WHAT THE 

BIBLE TEACHES 




FG SMITH 



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Book_ £&£& 

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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT. 



WHAT THE BIBLE 
TEACHES 



A 

Systematic Presentation of the Fundamental 

Principles of Truth Contained in 

the Holy Scriptures 



By 

F. G. SMITH 

Author of "The Revelation Explained' 

and 'Evolution of Christianity" 



"Things which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual 
things with spiritual." — 1 Cor. 2:13. 

"Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh 
you a reason of the hope that is in you." — 1 Pet. 3:15. 



Anderson, Indiana, U. S, A. 
GOSPEL TRUMPET COMPANY 






Copyrighted, 1914 

BY 

Gospel Trumpet Company 



JUL -3 1914 

©CI.A374669 



PREFACE 

The preface of a book is usually written last, and read 
last — or never read at all. This one, however, was 
mainly written first, and I trust that it will be read 
first; for if the special design and object of this work is 
understood by the reader, its usefulness will be thereby 
greatly increased. 

A careful study of the "signs of the times" in which 
we live shows the necessity of an exact statement of doc- 
trinal truth, especially of those underlying principles 
known as fundamental truth. The controversial wars of 
the past have now given way to a compromising senti- 
ment which demands peace and union even at the ex- 
pense of true doctrinal convictions. But while we must 
avoid the spirit of bitter strife and controversy, still we 
can not consent to a course which in the end seeks to rob 
us of the true doctrinal standards of the Bible. The 
apostolic command "Preach the Word" comes ringing 
down through the ages, and every holy minister of God 
is obligated to respond to the best of his ability. This is 
important. We are exhorted to "speak the things which 
become sound doctrine" (Tit. 2:1); to "be able by 
sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gain- 
sayers" (Tit. 1:9). And in language still stronger the 
apostle says: "Give attendance ... to doctrine . . . take 
heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine; continue in 
them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and 
them that hear thee" (1 Tim. 4: 13, 16). 

The Word of God presents the true standard of 
teaching. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, 



6 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, 
for instruction in righteousness" (2 Tim. 3:1G). We 
have no higher appeal than to the Word itself; therefore 
we must earnestly study the Scriptures in order that we 
may "rightly divide the word of truth" (2 Tim. 2: 15). 
Many people, however, do not have sufficient time to 
make the prolonged investigation necessary to give them, 
unaided, a satisfactory insight into the deep things of 
God; therefore they naturally look to others for as- 
sistance. To supply this legitimate demand, many books 
have been written. 

But the authors of these doctrinal books usually en- 
deavor to make their treatment of the various subjects 
exhaustive in order to meet the requirements of special 
students of the Word. This course in a great measure 
defeals the chief object of their publications — a general 
perusal — for it necessarily results in a great number of 
specialized works which but few people in this busy age 
have time to read through; and if a person reads only 
two or three volumes of a series, he does not obtain a 
proper idea of the relationship that the various lines 
sustain to each other. Therefore the need of a general, 
condensed work, one which can be placed in the hands 
of busy people and which will, with the least amount of 
time and effort, impart to them the very things that 
they need to know. 

Personal experience on the foreign missionary field 
has also tended to magnify greatly the above-mentioned 
difficulty and to emphasize the importance of a compre- 
hensive doctrinal work of a general character. In the 
first place, our many excellent works are written in an 
American setting, particularly adapted to an advanced 



PREFACE. 7 

stage of society, and containing illustrations and com- 
parisons that are for the most part unintelligible to 
Oriental readers. Furthermore, up to the present time 
our religious services abroad have been conducted in 
seven different foreign languages, and each of these 
nationalities, as well as scores of others, require litera- 
ture in their own tongue setting forth the various lines of 
Bible doctrine. If recourse be had to translation, how can 
we, in the earlier stages of missionary work, attempt the 
translation and publication in many languages of a whole 
library of doctrinal works? Manifestly it is impossible. 

Realizing these conditions, I have felt clearly directed 
of the Lord to write the present work, which presents in 
one volume all the principal lines of Bible truth, sus- 
tained by all the leading evidences relating thereto. This 
has been done in plain, easily understood language. Much 
fresh light has been thrown on these important Bible 
themes; therefore by the help of the Lord I have been 
enabled to "bring forth out of his treasure things new 
and old." Omitting as far as possible all local coloring, 
I have endeavored to deal faithfully with fundamental 
principles that are of universal application. 

Miany subjects of considerable importance are not pre- 
sented in separate chapters, but are included in other 
chapters to which they stand particularly related, being 
treated under appropriate subheads. Some subjects, 
however, such as Prayer and Faith, are of such a nature 
as to make their special classification in a general doc- 
trinal outline practically impossible. Prayer and Faith 
unite the human with the divine; therefore they are the 
life and soul of the entire gospel system; hence they be- 
long, not to a part, but to the whole. And while a great 



8 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

variety of subjects are considered in this work, they are 
not treated in an independent and disconnected way, 
after the manner of an encyclopedia, but are for the most 
part presented in a logical order of progression from 
the beginning to the end. 

For lack of sufficient space the digest of the subject- 
matter, given in the Table of Contents, has been greatly 
abridged; therefore it comprises but a partial amount of 
the real contents of the book. 

The Index of Texts will enable the reader to ascertain 
quickly the use that is made of special scriptures per- 
taining to the various subjects. Furthermore, the prin- 
cipal scriptures frequently urged against these doctrines 
are also considered in the body of the work; hence the 
Index will be found very convenient in finding the 
answer given to the objections based on these particular 
texts. 

The large diagrams entitled "The Church in Prophecy 
and History," which is inserted at the beginning of 
Chapter XVI, will be found very helpful in obtaining a 
correct understanding of the different lines of prophetic 
truth herein presented. 

I trust that God will bless this work to the good of 
thousands of souls, and that through its humble instru- 
mentality many may be led out into the glorious light of 
present truth. 

Yours in Christ, 

F. G. Smith. 

Beirut, Syria, Nov. 1, 1918. 



CONTENTS. 

PRELIMINARY 
DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE SCRIPTURES 

Special Evidences of the Divine Authorship of the Bible- 
Its Unity— Its Eevelation of God— Its Prophecies— Its Moral 
Beauty— Its Simplicity— Its Transformation of Human Char- 
acter—It Claims Divine Inspiration— It Endures every Eational 
and Reasonable Test— It Furnishes the Clear Light of Immor- 
tality. —Page 29. 

CONCERNING GOD 

CHAPTER I 
DOCTRINE OF GOD 

HIS ATTEIBUTES : Self -existence— Eternity— Spirituality 
— Unity — Immutability— Omnipresence— Omniscience— Omnipo- 
tence— "Wisdom— Holiness and Truth— Justice— Goodness. THE 
TKINITY: Meaning of— Discussions Concerning. I. THE 
FATHEE: As a Distinct Personality. II. THE SON: As a 
Distinct Personality— As Divine: 1. Divine Titles are Applied 
to Him— Examples; 2. Divine Titles are Ascribed to 
Him— Examples; 3. Divine Works are Performed by Him— 
Examples. III. THE HOLY SPIEIT: Is Divine— Is Dis- 
tinct Personality — Proofs— Performs Divine Works — Examples. 
GOD'S WOEKS: I. Creation: 1. Of Angels; 2. Of the Ma- 
terial Universe; 3. Of Man. II. Providence. —Page 41. 

CONCERNING MAN 

CHAPTER II 
THE NATURE OF MAN 
"What is Man?" — Mystery of His Origin and Destiny— Evo- 
lution Hypothesis Unsatisfactory. OEIGIN: Bible Account— 
Unity of the Eace— Admitted by Leading Scientists. IN 
GOD'S IMAGE: Special Characteristics of Man that are God- 
like. UN DEE MOEAL LAW: A Universal Conviction— Also 
the Teaching of Scripture — The Divine Image Partially Lost. 
A COMPOUND BEING: Body and Soul or Spirit— Body 
Mortal— Created Mortal— Six Proofs— The "Inner Man" 
"Eternal" — Scripture Proofs — Soul the Thinking, Knowing, 
Volitional part of Man— The Eeal Man— Can Exist Separate 
from Body— Proofs Many — Survival of the Spirit Taught 
Throughout the Bible. OBJECTIONS CONSIDEEED. 

—Page 55. 



10 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 



THE PROBLEM OF SIN 

CHAPTER III 

THE PROBLEM OF SIN 

Sin a Fact, Notwithstanding God's Holiness and Goodness— 
Whence Came it? ITS ORIGIN: Three Theories Concern- 
ing—God Not the Author of Moral Evil. IS NOT A DIVINE 
METHOD: It Formed no Part of his Purposes or his Plans- 
Originated in the Finite and by Apostasy— Made Possible by 
Man's Essential Nature. MAN WHOLLY RESPONSIBLE: 
A Problem of Moral Government. SIN AND PREDESTINA- 
TION: God's Relations to Sin Always Antagonistic— Designed 
to Prevent, Punish, or Counteract— God's Plans and Purposes 
Relative to Sin Agree with Man's Free Moral Agency. NA- 
TURE OF SIN. ITS UNIVERSALITY. —Page 75. 



REDEMPTION 

CHAPTER IV 
THE REDEMPTIVE PLAN 

SELF-REDEMPTION IMPOSSIBLE: An Insurmountable 
Legal Difficulty— A Moral Difficulty— Angels Could not Ac- 
complish It. MAN WHOLLY RESPONSIBLE FOR SIN: 
Therefore God Not Obligated to Redeem. WILL GOD RE- 
DEEM? Presumptive Evidences— Scriptural Intimations. A 
DIVINE PLAN. PROGRESSIVE REVELATION. THE 
ABRAHAMIC COVENANT: Two Prominent Divisions of. 
THE LAW. THE PROPHETS. CHRIST THE CENTER. 
FUTURE REDEMPTION: Relates to the Body— Consummated 
at the Resurrection. IMPORTANCE OF THE PROGRESSIVE 
VIEW: A Basis of Harmony for Facts Not Otherwise Recon- 
cilable—Examples. —Page 87. 

CHAPTER V 
CHRIST AND THE ATONEMENT 

With Sin a Universal Fact and Self -Redemption Impossible, 
a Redeemer is Necessary — God's Law Can Not be Ignored, 
therefore Redemption must be Accomplished Righteously, hence 
NECESSITY OF THE INCARNATION: Union of Two Na- 
tures—Human and Divine— A Middle Link— Christ the Re- 
deemer. THE VIRGIN BIRTH: Old Testament Prophecies 
of —Mysterious— Other Things Mysterious— A Reasonable Thing. 
EVIDENCES OF CHRIST'S DIVINITY: 1. Prophecies of 
Incarnation; 2 Old Testament Types Fulfilled in Him; 3. He 
Bore the Divine Names; 4. Divine Attributes Attributed to 
Him; 5. He Performed Miracles and Wrought Divine Works; 



CONTENTS. 11 



6. Divine Honors were Claimed by Him; 7. His Unexampled 
Human Character— Freedom from Sin— Profound Wisdom 
Without Education or Natural Advantages — Universal Char- 
acter of his Teachings— Himself the Universal Model— The 
Only Model— Unbelievers Unite in Tributes of Praise to Christ; 
8. His Death and Eesurrection— The Crowning Proof— An Ac- 
tual Fact— Fraud Impossible. THE ATONEMENT: A Bible 
Doctrine— Christ Not a Martyr— A Voluntary Sacrifice. ITS 
NECESSITY: Justice and Love— Harmony of Divine Attri- 
butes—The Secret of Eegeneration. ATONEMENT AND EE- 
DEMPTION: Different Aspects of— Cause and Effect— Atone- 
ment Finished— Eedemption Progressive. — Page 97. 



CHAPTER VI 
CONDITIONS FOR SALVATION 

As Sin is Committed Voluntarily, so also Salvation is Of- 
fered Conditionally. A SPIEITUAL AWAKENING: The 
Only Hope for the Lost— Gospel Designed to Effect This. DE- 
SIEE AND DECISION. GODLY SOEEOW: Inward Con- 
viction of Wrong. EEPENTANCE: The Way of Eepentance— 
Implies the Forsaking of All Sin. CONFESSION: 1. To God- 
Why Confess to Him? 2. T'o Man, When our Sins Involve 
Them— Object of Confession— Eeconciliation. EESTITUTION : 
A General Eequirement— Possible Exceptions— In Some Cases 
Impossible. FOEGIVENESS: Eight Attitude of the Heart. 
PEAYEE. FAITH: Eesults. —Page 111. 

CHAPTER VII 
SALVATION 

Importance of the Message. A PEESENT POSSIBILITY: 
Proofs. SOME HAVE OBTAINED IT: Scriptural Examples. 
WHAT SALVATION MEANS : Actual Deliverance from Sin— 
A Positive Experience in the Soul— Described by Different 
Terms, Expressing Various Aspects of the Same Thing. JUS- 
TIFICATION: The Legal Aspect— Our Sins Laid on Christ— 
His Eighteousness made Ours— False Teaching on This Point— 
Individual Eighteousness. CONVEESION: Expresses the 
Change Wrought in the Individual. THE NEW BIETH : Life 
from God— A Present Eeality— Is Fundamental— Without It 
there is No Salvation— Miraculous Nature of. KNOWLEDGE 
OF SALVATION: By the Eemoval of Sin— A Personal Testi- 
mony—By the Change in the Affections— Love to God and to 
All Men, even Toward Enemies — Special Love for the Saved — 
Witness of the Spirit within. — Page 123. 



12 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 



CHAPTER VIM 

A HOLY LIFE 

New Testament Teaches a Sinless Life. WHAT IS SIN! 
Responsibility to Law— Must be Enlightenment, Otherwise No 
Responsibility— The Will involved in Actual Sin. ALL MEN 
BY NATURE SINNERS: The Universal Conviction— Uniform 
Testimony of the Scriptures— Old Testament Predictions of 
Salvation. CHRISTIANS ARE SAVED FROM SIN: The 
Gospel Standard— 1. Christ Taught it— Examples; 2. Peter 
Taught it— Texts; 3. Paul Taught it— Scriptural Proofs; 4. 
John Taught it— Many Texts. THE LINE OF DISTINC- 
TION: Sin-Preachers— Amusing Example of Consistent Appli- 
cation of Sin-Doctrine. THE CONTRAST: As Presented by 
Bible Authorities— Jesus, Paul, Peter, James, Jude, John. 
SOME OBJECTIONS ANSWERED: 1. Certain Texts Appar- 
ently Inconsistent with Holiness; 2. Paul's Experience in Ro- 
mans 7, etc.— Proper Basis of Harmony for all such Objections. 
FREEDOM FROM WORLDL1NESS: Occasional Meaning of 
the Term ''the World ,, — God's People "Not of the World"— 
Implies Forsaking of All that is Essentially Worldly in Sen- 
timent, Associations, Amusements, Dress, etc. WORLDLY 
AMUSEMENTS: Prevalence of-A Snare to Souls. WORDLY 
DRESS: God's Word Condemns Such— "Modest Apparel" the 
Bible Standard— What Constitutes Modest Apparel? — The 
Apostle Tells What it Is— and also What it is Not— Not of 
the World. THE POSITIVE SIDE: Put on Christ— Manifest 
Christ— What He is to Us— The Christian Graces— A Life of 
Holiness. —Page 139. 

CHAPTER IX 

SANCTIFICATION 

More for the Believer— Sanctification Describes a Result — 
One Phase of a Work Variously Expressed. A BIBLE DOC- 
TRINE: Provided through the Atonement— Taught by Apos- 
tles—Is for the Church. WHAT DOES SANCTIFICATION 
SIGNIFY! Two Definitions— Scriptural Examples of Each. 
FOR JUSTIFIED PEOPLE ONLY. A SECOND WORK OF 
GRACE: Twe Forms of Sin, Inherent and Committed— Two 
Degrees in the Descent into Sin; therefore Two Degrees in 
Redemption— Many Scriptural Proofs and Examples. TWO 
WORKS SYMBOLIZED : By the Tabernacle— Its Two Rooms- 
Two Altars for the Blood of Sin-offerings— Two-fold Serv- 
ices—Applied thus in the New Testament. APOSTOLIC EX- 
AMPLES OF TWO WORKS: 1. The Apostles Themselves; 
2. The Jerusalem Church; 3. The Samaritan Church; 4. The 



CONTENTS. IS 

Household of Cornelius ; 5. The Disciples at Ephesns ; 6. The 
Thessalonian Church. CONDITIONS FOR SANCTIFICA- 
TION: A Justified Experience— A Sinless Life— A Perfect 
Consecration. THE HOLY GHOST BAPTISM: Various Ex- 
pressions Concerning the Spirit all Eelating to the Same 
Thing— A Reality. THE SPIRIT'S WORK: 1. To Sanctify 
or Cleanse; 2. To Fill the Soul— To Give Power— To Guide- 
To Comfort— To Teach— To Increase Fruitfulness— To Fit for 
Service. IMPORTANCE OF: To the Individual— To the Work 
of God— Absolutely Required in Ministers— Results of an Un- 
sanctified Ministry. EVIDENCE OF. SPECIAL WORKS OF 
THE SPIRIT: Various Gifts— Not to Each Individual Mem- 
ber. SOME FALSE OPINIONS: 1. That Speaking With 
Tongues is Necessarily the Evidence of the Holy Ghost Bap- 
tism; 2. That Sanctification is Received at One Time, and the 
Holy Ghost Baptism Subsequently— Many Scriptural Evidences. 
THE SANCTIFIED LIFE: The Purified Nature— Internal 
and External Harmony with the Perfect Will of God. TEMP- 
TATIONS: Can Still be Tempted— God's Purpose in Allowing 
Temptations— Beneficial to Man. —Tage 161. 

CHAPTER X 

DIVINE HEALING 

Eedemptive Plan Provides for our Bodies as well as for 
our Souls— Immortalization in the Future— Divine Healing 
Now. IN THE PROPHECIES. MANIFESTED BY CHRIST: 
Many Texts— A Proof of his Divinity— But Performed also 
Because of his Compassion. MANIFESTED BY THE APOS- 
TLES. IS A PART' OF THE GOSPEL: To "preach Christ" 
Perfectly is to Preach Healing. PERMANENT IN THE 
CHURCH: To Follow Believers— One of the Gifts in the 
Church— The Special Gift of Healing— Ministration of Heal- 
ing Belongs to All of God's Ministers— A Sister's Effort to 
Fulfill this Part of the Word through a Sectarian Ministry- 
Divine Healing Not Mind Healing or Christian Science— 
These Counterfeit Healings are Subjective, while Divine Heal- 
ing is Objective— God's Willingness to Heal— The Subject 
Complicated by a Double Revelation of the Will of God. CON- 
DITIONS FOR HEALING: Threefold Source of Disease; 
therefore Three sets of Conditions for Healing— Christ the 
only /^Cure-All "—Present-day Healing Work— Forty-two Per- 
sonal Cases O&ted, all df Wbcm «re Kncrwn iio the Write*. 

~Pta0* 197. 



14 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

RELATIONSHIP OF BELIEVERS; OR THE CHURCH: 
ITS MEMBERSHIP AND ORGANIZATION, ITS 
ORDINANCES AND ITS WORK 

CHAPTER XI 

UNITY OF BELIEVERS 

Two-fold Relationship— With Christ and -with Each Other— 
Tne Standard of the Word. UNITY ILLUSTRATED: By 
the Physical Body. IN ONE BODY: Salvation itself Inducts 
us into "One Body "—Christ the Head— He Prayed for the 
Perfection of this Unity — Indwelling Carnality a Hindrance — 
Perfect Holiness Effects Perfect Unity— Exemplified in the 
Apostolic Church. UNITY THROUGH RELATIONSHIP: 
First Basis of Unity not Knowledge or Development, but Spir- 
itual Relationship— Illustrated. UNITY PERFECTED: Four 
Essentials to: 1. "In Christ"; 2. Kept in His Name; 3. Re- 
ceive and Obey the Word; 4. Be Sanctified Wholly — All in 
Christ's Prayer— False Ideas Concerning Unity— Oneness the 
Uniform New Testament Standard. —Page 223. 

CHAPTER XII 

THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH 

Christ its Founder. THE CHURCH IN TYPE: God's 
House— Prefigured by the Old Testament House of God— The 
Transfer — Miraculous Manifestations at the Dedication of Each. 
IT IS THE BODY OF CHRIST': Christ the Head — One Body 
Only— All True Christians Constitute it. SALVATION ITS 
MODE OF MEMBERSHIP: Includes Every Saved Individual 
— Those who Commit Sin are No Part of God's Church. CON- 
TRASTED WITH SECTS: I. The Church was Fully Organ- 
ized on Pentecost— All Sects are of Later Origin; 2. Salva- 
tion Secures Divine Membership— It Makes No One the Mem- 
ber of a Sect; 3. God's Church has in its Membership Every 
Saved Individual— No Sect Contains All the saved; 4. God's 
Church Contains No Unsaved People — Sects Contain many who 
are Unsaved; 5. God's Church Contains all of the Truth— No 
Sect Contains All of the Truth, else it would Not Exist— Ex- 
ample of one Person who was Pleading for Sectarianism; 6. 
God's Church Contains No Error— Every Sect Contains Much 
Error; 7. Salvation, which Makes us Members of the Church 
of God, Reconciles All "In One Bodv"— Sectarianism Divides 
God's People into Hundreds of Bodies. ITS VISIBILITY: 
False Claim that Sects are Necessary in order to Make the 



CONTENTS. 15 



Church Visible— The Church Visible before Sects Arose— The 
Term "Church of God" Never Applied to an Invisible Some- 
thing—Always Eefers to the Visible Body of Worshipers— 
Originally, the Spiritual Body and the Visible Body were 
Identical — Scriptural Proofs— Such is the True Church in its 
Normal Condition— Such Identity Maintained by Spiritual Dis- 
cernment, Judgment, and Holy Power — Possibility of Separa- 
tion of the Two— Eesult— A Local Congregation of the True 
Church Defined. ITS OEGANIZATION : 2. Definitions of Or- 
ganization—All Fulfilled in the Bible Church. PAETICULAE 
FEATUEES: 1. It was a Spiritual Organization; 2. This 
Spiritual Body was Exhibited Visibly in the Form of Local 
Congregations; 3. It had Conditions of Membership; 4. It had 
a Classbook; 5. It had a Name; 6. It had a Discipline— Not 
Adapted to the Government of Sects— Examples of Sect Dis- 
cipline; 7. It had Proper Officers — Two Classes of Officers, 
General and Local— Deacons. EQUALITY OF MEMBEES. 
EQUALITY OF MINISTEES: Difference in Gifts, yet Es- 
sentially one Eank. EQUALITY OF MEN AND WOMEN IN 
THE CHUECH: Women's Position in Heathenism— The Gos- 
pel the First Eeligion to Exalt Womankind — Examples. 
WOMEN IN OFFICIAL POSITIONS: 1. As Deaconesses- 
Example; 2. As Ministers— Many Scriptural Proofs of their 
Ministration in the Church. NECESSAEY EXCEPTIONS. 
THE WOMEN'S HEAD-COVEEING : An Oriental Custom- 
Its Special Significance— Based on Conditions Eesulting from 
the Fall, hence Not an Integral Part of the Gospel— As a New 
Testament Ordinance it would Force a Distinction between the 
Sexes Contrary to Other Plain Texts— Eeason Why it can Not 
be Intended as a New Testament Ordinance— Commanded at 
Corinth Because of Certain Local Conditions. WOEK OF THE 
CHUECH: 1. To Perpetuate itself; 2. To Evangelize the 
World— Eequires Men, Means, and Whole-hearted Consecration. 

—Page 231. 

CHAPTER XIII 

BAPTISM 

Authority for New Testament Ordinances— Their Perpetu- 
ity—Paul's Experience a Special Proof— Baptism— In the Last 
Commission. A BELIEVEE'S BAPTISM: Apostolic Exam- 
ples—Infant Baptism a Heresy— Originated in the Apostasy as 
the Eesult of two other Errors— No Valid Eeason for— Can 
Only Produce Great Harm— Occasions a False Standard of 
Christianity— Deplorable Eesults of, Especially in the East. 
CONDITIONED ON EEPENTANCE: Bible Proofs-Other- 
wise Invalid, even Though Performed in the Bible Manner and 



16 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 



by a Holy Minister— Example. IS A BURIAL: "Immersion" 
the English Equivalent of the Greek Baptizo— Can be Substi- 
tuted for the word " Baptism' ' without Destroying the Sense; 
whereas either Sprinkle or Pour, in many cases, would make a 
Kidiculous Rendering— Immersion the Primitive Practise— Ad- 
mitted by Many Historians— Example, a Consistent Inconsist- 
ency—Bible Examples— Necessary Conditions for True Bap- 
tism—Following the Word. A PURIFYING ORDINANCE: 
Double Cleansing in the Law, Actual and Ceremonial— Two- 
fold Cleansing in the Gospel. Actually by the Blood of 
Christ; Ceremonially, by Water-Baptism— Various Texts— The 
Outward Sign of an Inward Work. SINGLE IMMERSION: 
The Threefold Formula Given in the Last Commission does Not 
Imply Three Immersions: 1. It was Never Used by the Apos- 
tles in the Acts; 2. The Design of Baptism Precludes such 
Repetition. —Page 267. 

CHAPTER XIV 

THE LORD'S SUPPER 

NOT A REGULAR MEAL: Scriptural Proofs. A COM- 
MEMORATIVE INSTITUTION: Lord's Supper and Com- 
munion Identical-— Was Observed in Apostolic Church. ITS 
DESIGN: False Theories— The Truth— Twofold Signification 
oi— Complete i n the Cfanaeh of God Only— Worthy Candidates. 
¥9B PEEEKFUIiFSr. —Pag* 2S3. 

CHAPTER XV 

FEET-WASHING 

Generally Ignored— Why?— Inconsistency. EXPRESSLY 
COMMANDED: Scriptural Proofs— Compared with other Obli- 
gations. A CHURCH ORDINANCE : Essentials to a Church Or- 
dinance. OLD CUSTOM CONSIDERED. OTHER OBJEC- 
TIONS: Inconsistency of Those who Urge the "Sandal" The- 
ory — Examples— Amusing Incident of a Preacher 's Attempts 
to Explain Away this Ordinance. WAS PRACTISED IN THE 
APOSTOLIC CHURCH: Scripture Proofs. ITS LESSON TO 
US. —Page 98L 



CONTENTS. 17 



THE CHURCH IN PROPHECY AND IN HISTORY 

CHAPTER XVI 

APOSTOLIC PERIOD 

Importance of Prophetic Information— Old Testament Pre- 
dictions of the Morning Light Age of the Gospel Day— The Vis- 
ions of the Apocalypse— The Nature and the Interpretations of 
Symbols. THE SYMBOLIC WOMAN— PUEE CHUECH : Her 
Celestial Array. THE GEEAT DEAGON— PAGAN EOME: 
Identified by his Heads and Horns— The Seven Heads, Seven 
Forms of Government in Eome— The Ten Horns, Ten Minor 
Eoman Kingdoms. SIGNIFICATION OF THE MAN-CHILD: 
The Double Symbol of a Woman and her Son used to Signify 
Two Distinct Phases of the Church— Proof. THE HOLY 
WAE: Conflict of the Church, Symbolized by Michael and his 
Angels, with the Dragon or Heathenism— The Church Tri- 
umphant. —Page 317. 
CHAPTER XVII 

THE GREAT APOSTASY 
A FALLING AWAY: Predicted by Christ and the Apos- 
tles—Early Traces of Apostasy in the Churches. THE APOS- 
TASY UNIVEESAL: Affected the Whole Church, East and 
West — Two Prominent Divisions of — The Leading Division. 
THE PAPACY: Described Particularly by Paul— Its Por- 
trayal in the Eevelation Prophecies. A VIOLENT PEESE- 
CUTING POWEE: Identity of the Two Beasts Described in 
Chapters 13 and 17 of the Eevelation— The Dread Work of 
Persecution— Harrowing Annals of History. ITS IDENTITY 
WITH HEATHENISM: The Successor of the Dragon— As- 
similation of Heathen Ceremonies and Worship— The Pantheon 
at Eome a Particular Example— "Great Things and Blas- 
phemies" Spoken by the Papal Beast. THE PAPAL EEIGN— 
PEOPHETIC TIME: Limited to 42 Months, or 1260 Days- 
Double Use of "Day" among the Jews, Signifying both a 
24-Hour Period, and one Year— Scriptural Example and Texts 
—Papal Eeign was therefore 1260 Years. THE COEEECT 
STAETING-STAKE : The Time Selected Measures two Dis- 
tinct Lines of Prophetic Truth, therefore must Harmonize with 
Both — Many Historical Quotations Pointing to Latter Half 
of Third Century— Milner Mentions Particularly A. D. 270— 
A Consistent Starting-Point. END OF 1260- YEAE PAPAL 
EEIGN: 1260 Years from A. D. 270 Eeaches to A. D. 1530, 
the Date of the First Protestant Creed — End of Eome's Spir- 
itual Supremacy — Testimony of D'Aubigne. —Page 327. 



18 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 



CHAPTER XVIII 

THE PROTESTANT ERA 

Sixteenth Century Keformation— Secret of its Power— Rise 
of Sects. PROTESTANTISM IN PEOPHECY: The Second 
Beast of Kevelation 13— Its Two Horns— Eeligious Significance. 
THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST: Image Defined— Partial Ref- 
ormations in Protestantism— Deceptions. A PEESECUTING 
POWER: Early History of Protestantism— Historical Examples 
of Persecution— More Mild than Rome. "THE MARK 
OF THE BEAST": Adoption of Papal Doctrines- 
Examples. THE ' ' NAME OF THE BEAST " : Its Fulfilment 
in Protestantism— A Eequirement there. THE "NUMBER 
OF HIS NAME": Meaning of the Number of a Name— "The 
Number of a Man"— The Papal Head— His Official Name, In- 
scribed on his Mitre, Vicarius Filii Dei— As Numerals, this 
Name Signifies 666— Its Application to Protestantism— Buying 
and Selling— Examples— A Parallel Prophecy in Revelation 11. 
THE TWO WITNESSES: Their Signification— Scriptural 
Proofs— Their Official Position in the Apostolic Church— This 
Position Usurped by the Rising Hierarchy— Their 1260-Year 
Prophecy in Sackcloth among Medieval Christians. SLAUGH- 
TER OF THE WITNESSES: Effected by the Second Beast 
of Eevelation 13— Particular Explanation and proofs. LENGTH 
OF PROTESTANT EEA: PEOPHETIC TIME— The Three 
and one-half Days Patterned After the Three and one-half 
Years of the Papal Reign— Similarity and Analogy— A Nat- 
ural Division of Time, Agreeing with Historical Events— Tes- 
timony of D'Aubigne — Inree and one-half Centuries, from A. 
D. 1530 to A. D. 1880. — Page 345. 

CHAPTER XIX 

THE LAST REFORMATION 

A REFORMATION PREDICTED: A movement of Mighty 
Power-" Babylon the Great." WHAT BABYLON IN- 
CLUDES: "Mother" and Daughters— The Entire Apostasy, 
East and West, with Every Sect Descended Therefrom— Proofs 
—Phase of Babylon Made Prominent in Connection with Pre- 
dictions of the Last Reformation is Protestantism in Parti- 
cular-Reason for This. ADMITTED BY PEOTESTANTS: 
Many Quotations from Leading Men. TESTIMONY OF THE 
WOED: That Eev. 18: 1-4 Eelates to Protestantism in Partic- 
ular Shown by Comparison with the Parallel Prophecy in 
Eevelation 14. "BABYLON IS FALLEN"— Fall a Moral 



CONTENTS. 19 

one. GOD'S PEOPLE CALLED OUT: The Voice of Heaven— 
Besult of this Message Depicted by the Eevelator— Many Other 
Kindred Prophecies— When God's People Obey the Message 
and "Come Out" of Babylon, Where shall they Go? THEY 
AEE CALLED TO ZION : What is Zion?— Where is it?— 
God's Work a Gathering Work. THE PEESENT-DAY EEF- 
OEMATION: Where the Truth, the Whole Truth, is to be 
Found— What is Being Accomplished. A WOEK DIVINELY 
CONFIRMED: Holy Power— Divine Attestation— The Signs 
following — Devils Cast Out— Sickness and Disease of Every 
Name and Description Healed— Five Points Proving Genuine- 
ness: 1. It Began at the Proper Prophetic Time; 2. It Ac- 
complishes the Work Described in the Prophecies; 3. It Ee- 
stores to the People the Whole Word of God; 4. It Eestores 
a Pure Church, Bearing Every Specific Characteristic of the 
Apostolic Church; 5. God has Sealed and Approved it by the 
Miraculous Manifestation of his Glorious Power. lEIUMPH- 
ANT OVEE THE APOSTASY: The Song of Moses and of 
the Lamb. A WOELD-WIDE WOEK: Predictions of a Uni- 
versal Movement. COUNTEEFEIT MOVEMENTS: Many- 
How Distinguished— "Buy the Truth, and Sell it Not." 

—Page 369. 

DIVINE LAW AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD 

CHAPTER XX 

THE TWO COVENANTS 

Prefigured by the two Wives of Abraham— The Law and the 
Gospel. MEANING OF COVENANT: Used here in an Ana- 
logical Sense — Eelative Position of the Parties— Therefore 
God's Covenant is used Interchangeably with his "Counsel," 
"Oath" or "Promise" — Many Scriptural Examples and 
Texts — Applied to any God-appointed Arrangement; e. g.; Day 
and Night— Texts; Sabbath — Texts; Circumcision— Texts— 
To any Single Precept of a System — Examples— To Special 
Covenants Embracing Entire Systems in Different Dispensa- 
tions. THE SINAITIC COVENANT: "From Sinai "-What 
Constituted that Covenant: 1. The Decalogue — Direct Texts 
which Declare This; 2. Other Precepts also, Included in the 
"Book of the Covenant"; 3. The Entire Pentateuch— Texts, 
FALSE CLAIM OF TWO LAWS: No Such Distinction as 
"Moral Law" and "Ceremonial Law" made in the Bible- 
Only one Law was Given to the Jews, called "Law of God" 
and "Law of Moses"— Both these Designations Applied to 
the Whole Law, Whether Moral, Civil, or Ceremonial— Many 
Proof Texts— Ten Commandments Not Superior to the Eest 



20 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

of the Law— All was Given by God in the Same Manner- 
Spoken from Heaven— Decalogue Delivered Publicly— Remain- 
der Spoken Privately to Moses, at the Eequest of the People- 
Difference in Recording— Why?— Decalogue, which was Deliv- 
ered Publicly, Afterward Written on Stones by God Himself 
as a "Testimony," or "Witness," that the Eest of the Law, 
Written by Moses, and which the People did Not Hear, was 
true— the Very Law of God— Such Visible "Testimonies," or 
"Witnesses," Customary in Those Days — Other Examples of — 
The Testimony, or Witness, Not Superior to the Thing Testi- 
fied, or Witnessed to. A TEMPORARY SYSTEM : Proved by 
Many Texts— "Not Made for a Righteous Man"— Applicable 
to a Sin-age Only. A NEW COVENANT PREDICTED: A 
Better Covenant— Established by Jesus Christ— Five Points 
of Superiority Given. FIRST COVENANT ABOLISHED: 
Direct Scripture Texts— What Was Included in this Abolished 
Covenant? 1. The Decalogue as Delivered in the Wilderness- 
Three Unanswerable Texts which Directly Affirm This; 2. All 
other Commandments and Ordinances of the Mosaic Dispensa- 
tion — The Entire Law System, Moral, Civil, and Ceremonial, 
Only a Natural Code, hence could be Superseded— Other Plain 
Scriptures. —Page 403. 

CHAPTER XXI 
"THE LAW OF CHRIST" 

NECESSITY OF LAW: As a Standard of Conduct -As a 
Standard of Judgment. ONLY DIVINE LAW CAN DEFINE 
SIN: What Law are Christians Under?— Revelation made in 
Various Ways and at Different Times— Progressive— Folly of 
Attempting to Hold to Divine Injunctions After they have 
Served their Purpose or been Superseded— Particular Example. 
CHRIST THE LAWGIVER: Predicted— Was to Supersede 
Moses— Thus Applied by Peter— His Law to be the Standard 
of Judgment, According to the Prophets— Demonstrated on 
the Mount of Transfiguration— Compared with Sinai. NEW 
LAW GOD'S STANDARD OF JUDGMENT: The Words of 
Christ on this Point— The Directness and Authority of His 
Law Shown by Six Distinct Considerations— Its Relation to 
the Mosaic Law— Many Scriptural Proofs. A "PERFECT 
LAW OF LIBERTY"; Perfect in that it Covers Every Phase 
of Human Conduct and Character— Condemns All Wrong; En- 
joins All that is Right— List of Thirty-three Sins which the 
Law of Christ, as Revealed in the Gospel, Distinctly Names and 
Prohibits — List of Twenty Righteous Things which the Same 
Law Distinctly Names and Enjoins— Gospel Standard the Only 
Standard in this Dispensation. A GRADUAL CHANGE: The 



CONTENTS. 21 



Transfer from Law to Gospel was, on the Part of God, Com- 
plete at the Cross— Sluggishness of the Jewish Mind to Com- 
prehend this Change— Law Eetained with the Gospel in Judea— 
Paul and the Gentiles — True Eelation of the Two Systems Ee- 
vealed by Paul— Further Example from Sarah and Hagar. 

—Page 427. 

CHAPTER XXII 

THE LAW OF HOLINESS 

Previous Consideration of Law Objective— Mosaic Law Ob- 
jective Only — Law of Christ Both Objective and Subjective- 
External and Internal— Its Subjective Nature Predicted— Ee- 
stores Man to Original Condition— Edenic Law also Subjec- 
tive — Its True Nature— Partially Lost by the Fall; therefore 
an Essential Feature of Eedemption— Christ's Appeal to Origi- 
nal Law. OBJECTIVE LAW: All Objective Law only an 
Expression of God's Higher, Original Law, Adapted to Cer- 
tain Conditions, therefore Temporary in that Particular Form — 
Proofs — Design and Necessity of Objective Eevelation. 
MOEAL LAW: God's Original, Higher Law is Moral Law- 
Butler's Distinction between Moral Precepts and "Positive," 
or Ceremonial, Precepts— Moral Precepts Exist by Nature Prior 
to External Command— This Distinction Immutable. CEEE- 
MONIAL HOLINESS: The Holiness of Things Ceremonial 
Only, for it is Made by External Command or Decree— Conse- 
cration, or Dedication, Only— No Actual Change Made in the 
Nature of the Thing thus Dedicated, Therefore No Actual 
Holiness Conferred. PAETICULAE EXAMPLES OF CEEE- 
MONIAL HOLINESS: The Sabbath— Selected for two Sea- 
sons: 1. Because it Hlustrates the Entire Subject of Ceremo- 
nial Holiness; 2. Because the Sabbath Subject is Misunder- 
stood or Perverted by Nearly all Classes of Christians— This 
Selection a Natural one— God has Himself Selected it as Eep- 
resentative of All Ceremonial Holiness— Decalogue a Summary 
or Abridgement of the Whole Law — Clearly Evident Because 
it is itself Named in Many Texts as ' ' the Covenant, ' ' Showing 
that it Eepresents the Whole— Sabbath Eepresentative of All 
Ceremonial Things— Classed, Over and Over Again, with All 
Other Ceremonies, Heading the List of Sacred Days — Many 
Texts— Decalogue Never Called "Moral Law," though it Con- 
tains Many Moral Precepts— Sabbath Law Determined, Not 
by its Position in the Decalogue, but by its Own Nature— Did 
Not Exist by Nature, but had to be "Made" by Appointment, 
or Decree, Like all Other Things Ceremonially Holy— God's 
Eesting on the Day did Not Make it Holy, but it Became 



22 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

' ' Holy ' ' When God ' ' Blessed and Sanctified ' ' it " Because that 
in it lie Had Bested"— When did he " Bless and Sanctify" 
it as a Sabbath for Man?— Answered by Many Direct Scrip- 
ture Texts— Twofold Object of its Institution as Eevealed in 
the Law— Ceremonial Nature of the Sabbath Command Proved 
by Three Unanswerable Arguments— Observe Carefully— Im- 
possibility of its Internal Writing in the Heart Demonstrated, 
therefore it Forms No Part of the New Covenant— Its Aboli- 
tion, with all Other Ceremonies of the Law, Clearly Shown 
by the Plainest and Most Natural Interpretation of the New 
Testament Texts— Arguments for Perpetuity of the Sabbath 
that Concern New Testament Texts Answered— Also some Other 
Special Texts. OBJECT OF LAW CEEEMONIES: To Serve 
in a Typical Eelation— Imperfect Types, " Shadows" — Na- 
ture of Symbols and Types— Paul Classes the Sabbath-days as 
"Shadows" whose Substance is Found in Christ, Col. 2:14- 
17 — The Writer of the Hebrews thus Points out the Sabbath 
as a Type of the True Spiritual "Best" of the Christians, 
which We "by Faith" Enter When "We also Cease from our 
Own Works as God did from His." Hebrews 4— Careful Anal- 
ysis of Hebrews 4. NEW TESTAMENT CEEEMONIES: 
New Covenant Primarily Subjective— Bequires External Mani- 
festation ; hence the Necessity of Ceremonial Institutions as 
Channels of Expression— also Commemorative Institutions- 
Four Special Things to be thus Represented: 1. Our Private 
Acceptance of Christ and the Authority and Law of his King- 
dom—Represented by Baptism; 2. The Procuring Cause of 
Salvation, as the Basis of all our Hopes, the Atonement— Rep- 
resented by the Lord's Supper; 3. Our Deep and Special Love 
for the Brethren— xvepresented by Ordinance of Feet-washing; 
4. Our Worship and our Faith— Requires a Time and Place 
of Public Manifestation — Regular Meetings in Apostolic 
Church— The Place of Worship Left to Private Judgment Ac- 
cording to Conditions in All Parts of the World— The Special 
Time for this Public Worship is Set by Apostolic Example in 
the New Testament as "the Lord's Day," "the First Day 
of the Week"— As Commemorative Institutions, "the Lord's 
Supper" is Something Possessing Religious Significance, a 
Distinctive New Testament Ordinance Commemorating the 
Death of Christ ; while ' ' the Lord 's Day ' ' was, by the Apos- 
tolic Church, Devoted to Religious Worship, in Commemora- 
tion of the Greater Fact of the Resurrection— Many Scrip- 
tural Examples and Proofs— Many Historical Examples, Dat- 
ing from the First Christian Centuries. PERVERSION OF 
NEW TESTAMENT CEREMONIES: Such Things Never 
Called "Holy" in the Bible— New Testament Holiness Per- 
tains to People, Not to Days or Things— Originally "the 



CONTENTS. 28 



Lord's Day was Simply a Worship-Day, Not Differing in 
Nature from any Other day — Proofs— Apostasy Exalted Ex- 
ternal Things and Attached Special Sanctity and Holiness to 
them— Communion one Example— Origin of Sunday-sabbath 
Idea— A Child of the Apostasy— Perversion of Scripture Texts 
in order to support it— God's Eeformation Eestores the Truth 
on this Subject also— " True Holiness"— Proper Use, Not 
Worship, of Ceremonial Things— The Proper Attitude to Take. 

—Page 441. 

CHAPTER XXIII 

THE KINGDOM OF GOD 
THE KINGDOM IN PEOPHECY : Interpretation of Daniel 
2. ESTABLISHED BY CHEIST: Fulfilment of Isaiah's Pre- 
diction — Christ's Mission and His Personal Statement— Exactly 
Fulfilled Daniel 2 — Accords also with the Eevelation— Time of 
its Establishment Shown by Another Method— Was Introduced 
by John the Baptist— "Kingdom of God" and "Kingdom of 
Heaven" Identical— Proved by Twelve Texts. NATUEE OF 
CHEIST 'S KINGDOM: 1. It is a Doctrine— Was Preached; 
2. It is an Experience— Men were Instructed to "Seek" it 
and "Press into" it— A Heart-Experience— Contrasted by 
Christ with Earthly Kingdoms; 3. It is the Present Inherit- 
ance of the Saints— Some in New Testament Times Testified 
that they were Already in it; 4. It is a Visible Working 
Force — In this Phase it is Identical with the Church in its 
Organic Form — Thus Manifested in Power on the Pentecost 
Day. A EEIGN ON THE EAETH: The Public Triumph of 
the Church over Heathenism is Eepresented in Eevelation 12 
as a Special Manifestation of the Kingdom of God; in Other 
Words, the Church in its Organic Workings is the Visible Mani- 
festation of the Kingdom — Hence a Public Eeign in the Early 
Days of Christianity. A EEIGN WITH CHEIST: but this 
Phase of the Kingdom Followed the Fortunes of the Organic 
Church— When the True Church, as Eepresented by the Man- 
child of Eevelation 12, was Cut off from the Earth through 
Martyrdom, the Public Eeign of the Kingdom on Earth Ceased ; 
but the Eeign Continued Above "with Christ" in Paradise — 
The Eevelator's Description of this 1,000-Year Eeign of the 
Martyrs— Twentieth Chapter Explained Particularly. THE 
FIEST EESUEEECTION : Its Spiritual Nature Demonstrated 
—Scriptural Proofs. ANOTHEE EEIGN ON THE EAETH: 
Eestoration of this Phase of the Kingdom after the Apostasy — 
Now an Accomplished Fact. THE UNIVEESAL KINGDOM: 
Twofold Nature of Christ's Kingdom— Spiritual in the Hearts 
of his People (Visible in his Pure Church), and Literal in 



24, WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

the Universe— Christ New Universal King— Scripture Proofs — 
Now Conquering his Enemies— The Principle of Moral Gov- 
ernment—Subdues "the Last Enemy" (Death) at his Second 
Coming— Will then Eesign his Eedemptory Position as Special 
King over his Chosen People— Texts. —Page 487. 

DOCTRINE OF FINAL THINGS 

CHAPTER XXIV 

SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

His Coming Declared— The Time of Final Eewards is Then, 
Not at Death— Popular, but Mistaken, Notion. THE INTEE- 
MEDIATE STATE: Survival of the Spirit of Man Proved 
by the Fact of the Eesurrection Itself— Where is the Spirit 
Kept?— Hades, the World of Departed Spirits— Bible Proofs 
of an Intermediate State— Ends at Christ's Coming— What 
will Take Place at his Coming? "THE END": End of all 
Earthly Things. THE EESUEEECTION: Only One Future 
Literal Eesurrection of the Dead — Many Scriptural Proofs 
from Plain Texts. THE GENEEAL JUDGMENT: Includes 
Both Classes of Mankind. FINAL EEWAEDS: Here the 
Final Destiny of Both Good and Bad is Forever Settled. DE- 
STEUCTION OF THE EAETH : Literal Destruction and Pass- 
ing Away of the World and all Things Therein— Proved by 
Plain Texts. THE MILLENNIAL THEOEY: "Found Want- 
ing"— No Such Earthly Eeign after Christ Comes Again- 
Proved by Three Considerations: 1. There will be No Time 
for a Millennium, for he Comes to Eaise the Eighteous at 
"the Last Day," and then "there shall be Time no Longer"; 
2. There will be No Place for a Millennium, for the Earth 
Itself will be "Destroyed," "Pass Away," and "No Place 
be Found for it"; 3. There will be No Need of a Millennium 
for God's Offers and Plans for Salvation are all Complete 
Now— Origin of the Millennial Heresy— Its Particular Use 
by Satan— A Warning. —Page 517. 

CHAPTER XXV 

DESTINY OF THE WICKED 

What the Bible Teaches. THEY WILL BE PUNISHED: 
False Argument from God's Goodness— His Goodness and his 
Severity— No Eeflection on his Character— Harmony of the 
Divine Attributes. DEGEEES OF PUNISHMENT: Clearly 
Proved by the Scriptures. NOT ANNIHILATION: Certain 
Texts Frequently Misapplied to Teach Annihilation, Clearly 



CONTENTS. 25 



Explained, Harmonious with all Other Plain Texts on the Sub- 
ject. FUTUEE PUNISHMENT WILL BE IN HELL: Hell 
a Place, as well as a Condition— Object of its Creation— Demons 
and all Wicked Men Eeserved for it. IT WILL BE EVEE- 
LASTING: The Symbol Objection— True Nature of Symbols 
Pertaining Thereto Increases the Severity of Hell— Different 
Terms and Symbols Describing this Terrible State of Punish- 
ment: 1. "Punishment"— It will be Everlasting— Texts; 2. 
" Death"— Eternal Death and Separation from God and from 
All that is Good — Death Eepulsive— It will be Eternal — 
Texts ; 3. ' ' Darkness ' ; — ' ' Outer Darkness ' f — Terrible as 
Earthly Punishment— It will be Forever — Texts; 4. "Damna- 
tions—Highest Form of Condemnation— It will be Eternal- 
Texts; 5. " Destruction"— Not Extinction of Being, but Utter 
Euination, as Many Texts Show, and as the word "Destruc- 
tion" is in Many Texts Applied— It will be Everlasting- 
Texts; 6. "Fire"— "Furnace of Fire"— "Lake of Fire"— 
It will be Never-ending— Many Texts. THIS TEUTH FOE- 
EVEE SETTLED: No Possible Way to Evade it— Apostolie 
Use of the Language in this Eespect— The Same Words that 
Measure the Duration of God, Heaven, and All that is Good, 
are Used to Measure the Length of the Punishment of the 
Wicked in Hell— " Forever, ' > "Forever and Ever," "Ever- 
lasting," "Eternal"— Shown by a Multitude of Texts— Simply 
Unanswerable— Warning. —Page 557. 

CHAPTER XXVI 

OUR ETERNAL HOME 

Not this World, but Heaven— All our Hopes, our Longings, 
and our Aspirations, are There — Scriptural Promises of — The 
Hope of the Patriarchs and the Prophets. A SUEE EEWAED : 
Made Certain through the Gospel— A Foretaste of its Glory- 
Prepared by Christ— When shall we Enter it? A NEW 
HEAVEN AND A NEW EAETH: As Described by Peter- 
Inheritance Promised by Christ— Forseen and Described by 
the Eevelator. THE GOLDEN CITY: Its Dazzling Splendor 
and Magnificence — A Glorious Symbol of our Heavenly In- 
heritance—A Free Access. OUE HOME ETEENAL: Earth's 
Sorrows Gone Forever— One Unending Day— Home with the 
Bedeemed of all Ages, Home with the Angels, Some with God. 

-—Page 555. 



PRELIMINARY. 



DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE 
SCRIPTURES. 

The special design of this work, indicated by the 
title, does not necessitate an inquiry into the fact of 
revelation itself, but the divine authority of the Holy 
Scriptures is accepted presumptively as the everlasting 
basis of all doctrinal truth. But since the subjects con- 
sidered are of such vast importance, involving the deepest 
and holiest interests of the human race, here and here- 
after, it is fitting that we should at the outset consider 
briefly the character of those Scriptures to which we 
appeal as to the court of last resort. 

The truth of the Bible is determined by its nature; 
while its authority is dependent altogether upon its 
source. The more carefully and reverentially we study 
the sacred Scriptures, the more deeply are we impressed 
with the fact that they have proceeded from one source. 
True, the Bible consists of many books penned by various 
writers during a period of fifteen hundred years, but 
there exists throughout a grand unity and harmony that 
suggests the idea of divine inspiration. The writers 
themselves did not claim to be the authors of the messages 
they delivered; but, as the apostle Peter affirms, they 
"spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 
1 : 21). Their writings encompass a variety of subjects — 
the origin of things, war, prophecy, biography, law and 
government, moral philosophy, ethics, theology and 
poetry; still there exists a remarkable harmony of senti- 
ment and teaching such as can be found in no other col- 



30 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

lection of books on the earth. Thousands of able schol- 
ars have written on all of these subjects; but if the best 
of such works, by a score of different authors, were 
brought together in one volume, what an assemblage of 
perversions and contradictions we would have! 

While visiting the splendid cathedral at Milan, Italy, 
I was deeply impressed with the marvelous perfection 
of its architectural design and the beauty of its execu- 
tion. Standing on the roof, in the midst of a forest of 
glistening marble spires, bearing hundreds of elegantly 
carved statues, I was made to realize what wonders can 
be accomplished by men who work in accordance with 
a fixed plan. This structure was begun in A. D. 1386 — 
more than five hundred years ago — and it is still incom- 
plete; thousands of workmen have been employed in its 
construction ; and its grandeur has excited the admiration 
of the world. Could I believe that this was the result of 
mere accident or chance? Impossible! To behold it 
is to be convinced, without being told, that one mind 
planned it all. 

We witness the performance of an orchestra. The 
strains and melodies delight us; the modulations and 
the variations draw out the finer feelings of the soul; and 
our enjoyment is supreme when the low, soft minor move- 
ment turns into the major and ends in one grand, sweep- 
ing majestic climax. But we know that this is the product 
of the creative genius of a single composer, while the 
beauty of its execution depends upon the ability of the 
director and the skill of those assigned to the different 
parts. 

So with God's Word. Viewed as a unified structure, 
it is the most perfect and magnificent that has ever been 



DIVINE AUTHORITY. 31 

reared, thus showing the hand of the one divine Master 
Builder. As music, it is the grandest that has ever fallen 
upon human ears. It forms the cradle lullaby of innocent 
childhood, bursts forth spontaneously in the happiness of 
youth, or modulates into a minor movement in seasons of 
affliction and sorrow. Music for the young and for the 
old, for the free and for the care-worn; for the strong 
and for the dying. God the composer; his Spirit the 
director of the orchestra. 

The revelation that the Scripture makes of the one 
true and living God testifies as to its source. While the 
idea of a Supreme Being is universal, his nature, and 
his relations with men, are necessarily subjects of 
revelation. The history of all heathenism fails to dis- 
close in one single instance the conception of a pure, 
holy God, kindly disposed toward the human race. On 
the other hand, the mythologies of all such nations abound 
with the most shocking and disgusting details of the 
actions of the gods whom they worshiped. The history 
of the Hebrew people given in the Bible shows that 
they, like other nations, were prone to evil of the deepest 
and blackest type. Whence, then, did they derive the 
idea of a God of holiness, a God who was opposed to all 
of their evils, and yet gracious and full of mercy ? When 
even Athens was devoting thousands of her choicest 
women to the lustful service of Venus; when Corinth, 
according to Strabo, had one thousand sacred prostitutes 
in one temple, — who, I ask, taught the Israelites the 
principle of holiness and gave them such exalted moral 
conceptions of God? 

The special messengers of God by whom the Bible was 
written were given the power of performing miracles, 



82 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

by which their inspiration was attested and their mes- 
sages made authoritative; but the "more sure word of 
PROPHECY" (2 Pet. 1: 19) furnishes the greatest ex- 
ternal proof of its inspiration. To this more than to any- 
thing else Christ and the apostles made their constant 
appeal. Matthew, narrating the deeds of the Savior, 
gives us the standing phrase, "that it might be fulfilled 
which was spoken by the prophet"; while Peter affirms, 
in words unmistakable, that the "holy men of God spake 
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1:21). 
From these facts Paul adduces his conclusion relative 
to the authority of the Bible, in these words : "All Scrip- 
ture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for 
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in 
righteousness" (2 Tim. 3: 16). 

Christianity is the only religion that has ever dared 
to base itself on prophecy, contented to stand or fall with 
its exact fulfilment. It is true that some heathen nations 
had oracles which they sometimes consulted in regard to 
the future, but the utterances of these oracles were so 
ambiguous and uncertain, so easily convicted of down- 
right hypocrisy and deceit, that they are not worthy of 
comparison with the sublime prophecies of the Bible. 
Their construction was made to agree with whichever 
turn events might take. To illustrate: When Con- 
stantine was marching toward Rome, leading his vic- 
torious army, Maxentius, who was in command of the 
Eternal City, consulted the sibylline books as to the 
result of the impending conflict. He received this certain 
answer: "On that day the enemy of Rome will perish." 
Assured by this statement, Maxentius led his forces out 
to the conflict on the banks of the Tiber, but he was com- 



DIVINE AUTHORITY. 33 

pletely everwhelmed and in attempting to flee back into 
the city was crowded off the Milvian bridge into the 
river and drowned by the weight of his own armor. But 
this result did not invalidate the ambiguous oracle; for 
whichever way the event turned, it could be claimed that 
the enemy of Rome had perished. So also when Croesus, 
king of the Lydians, consulted the Delphian oracle as 
to whether he should proceed in war against Cyrus, king 
of Persia, he received the encouraging response, "You 
will destroy a great empire"; he did, but it was his own. 

I can not, in the space at my disposal, refer to the thou- 
sand examples of prophetic utterances recorded in the Bi- 
ble, but even an infidel can see at least many of them are 
not ambiguous or uncertain sayings. So many details 
are given that the predictions are forever removed from 
the category of mere human guess-work. One man has 
said that it requires no divine foresight to predict that 
a certain person will die ; but if you add to this announce- 
ment the statement that his death will be occasioned by 
a certain disease and will take place on a particular day, 
this combination of circumstances removes it entirely 
from the scope of human foresight. Now, the prophecy 
of Daniel recorded in chap. 8:1-12 contains at least 
fifteen points of exact identification with the subsequent 
historical facts which it portrays. When Elijah stood 
before King Ahab and announced the destruction of his 
entire household and declared, "The dogs shall eat Jeze- 
bel by the wall of Jezreel," there was nothing ambiguous 
in his prediction. 

The marvelous prophecy which Christ made concern- 
ing the destruction of Jerusalem and the ruin and dis- 



34 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

persal of the Jews has been fulfilled with such un- 
questionable exactness that the boldest infidels dare not 
deny the agreement; consequently they are forced to 
shift to the ridiculous and unproved position that these 
words were not spoken by Christ, but were written by 
some one after the events themselves occurred. How 
strange that Porphry and Celsus, those early opponents 
of the Christian religion, did not think to employ this in- 
genius device in order to break the power of the words of 
Christ! But perhaps the events themselves were not far 
enough removed from the knowledge of the people to 
allow such a wretched perversion of the facts. 

The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah describes Christ's 
crucifixion and atonement work with such accuracy of 
detail that the inspiration of the prophet is assured. As 
there was no possibility of showing that this was written 
after the crucifixion occurred, Bolingbroke went to the 
absurd extreme of claiming that Christ, having read 
this saying of Isaiah's, brought on his own crucifixion in 
order to strengthen his cause by giving his disciples an 
appeal to the supposed prophecy! One would think 
that Bolingbroke would have known that deceivers and 
hypocrites are not quite so anxious to die. Even these 
infidels themselves are well contented to rest in the 
shadow of our meeting-houses, and never trust their 
precious heads among the cannibals where the consecrated 
missionaries go! 

The internal proofs of the divine authorship of the 
Bible are many, but I shall refer only to a few. 

Its moral beauty is everywhere evident. While it de- 
scribes the lowest forms of sin in the plainest language, 
still they are named only to be condemned. No un- 



DIVINE AUTHORITY. 35 

prejudiced person can read the sacred pages without 
realizing that the Book stands for all that is good in man, 
and is forever opposed to all that is evil. It pronounces 
the last word on moral character. So keenly is this 
felt that at the present day the leaders of heathen 
religions are attempting to adjust their moral standards 
to those of Christianity. This book, coming from heaven, 
has given the correct standard, and this is all summed 
up in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, who "spake 
as never man spake." The mind of man has never con- 
ceived anything so noble, so elevating, so inspiring, so 
grand, as that one sermon on the mount. Search through 
all the religions of the ages, glean out every choice 
moral precept and delineation of human character and 
conduct, place the findings together in one collection, and 
they will bear a most wretched comparison with the 
divine beauty and the infinite wisdom here expressed by 
the Christ of the Bible. Here is given the spiritual 
essence of the law and the prophets. Here truth is 
pressed homeward to the human soul, and character and 
conduct are defined by the secret springs and motives 
of the heart. Here all pride, hypocrisy, and self-seek- 
ing stand condemned; while all the finer virtues of which 
the soul is capable find free expression and infinite en- 
couragement in the incomparable Beatitudes. Here a 
restraining influence is brought to bear upon wicked men 
by the solemn assertion of a future state of punishment 
in hell ; while the righteous are assured of a great reward 
in heaven. 

Another beautiful feature of God's Word is its sim- 
plicity. While it contains the choicest wisdom of the 
ages, still it meets the wants and requirements of the un- 



36 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

learned and illiterate. "The wayfaring men though 
fools shall not err therein." The way of salvation, 
though straight and narrow, is not hidden, and there is 
nothing to hinder any seeking soul from coming in con- 
tact with its Maker. Blessed thought! 

But one of the clearest proofs that the Bible is the 
word of God is the fact that it now transforms human 
character and accomplishes the regeneration of society. 
The promises of salvation and deliverance contained in 
its pages are, in millions of instances, proved to be a 
living reality. The words of men have never accom- 
plished such results as these. Aristotle wrote on the 
"Principles of Ethics," but who has ever heard of his 
works' transforming the nature of a single man from 
sin to holiness? Thomas Paine wrote the book "Age of 
Reason"; has it ever been known to reclaim a man from 
drunkenness and debauchery, as does the holy Book 
which it so vilely derides? BUT THIS BOOK IS THE 
BOOK OF GOD. It bears on its face the stamp of 
divine inspiration and performs the work of God in the 
world. Millions of redeemed men and women have given 
their lives in its defense, and today it is loved and 
reverenced by the worthy ones of earth. It is the inspira- 
tion of the world's best literature, which in countless 
thousands of volumes have radiated from it, as the com- 
mon center of everything that is lofty, upright, and good. 

Furthermore, it claims divine inspiration. "Hear the 
word of the Lord," cries Isaiah. "Give ear, O earth, for 
the Lord hath spoken" (chap. 1: 10, 2). "The Lord said 
unto me," are the words of Jeremiah (chap. 1:7). And 
we read that "the word of the Lord came expressly unto 
Ezekiel" (chap. 1:3). Jesus says concerning Moses, 



DIVINE AUTHORITY. 87 

"He wrote of me" (John 5:46). And again, "Search 
the Scriptures ; for in them ye think ye have eternal life : 
and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39). 
"If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will 
they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead" 
(Luke 16: 81). "In the volume of the book it is written 
of me" (Heb. 10:7). "A more sure word of prophecy" 
(2 Pet. 1: 19). "Holy men of God spake as they were 
moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1 : 21). 

The apostles themselves were specially inspired by 
the Spirit, for Jesus said to them, "Take no thought how 
or what ye shall speak .... for it is not ye that speak, 
but the Spirit of your Father that speaketh in you" 
(Matt. 10:19, 20). Paul commended the Thessalonian 
brethren because they received his preaching, "not as 
the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God" 
(1 Thess. 2: IS); and to the Corinthians he said, "The 
things that I write unto you are the commandments of 
the Lord" (1 Cor. 14: 87). Peter refers to the epistles of 
Paul and classes them with "the other Scriptures" (2 Pet. 
8: 15, 16). Paul declares that "All Scripture is given by 
inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine" (2 
Tim. 8:16). 

The Bible emerges from every legitimate test, external 
and internal, with glories undimmed, and bearing every 
evidence that it is indeed the word of God. And since 
it i« clearly proved to be the divine Word, its absolute 
authority is forever settled. 

"O precious Bible! burning words from heaven, 
We'll ever cherish thee in our heart. 
Bweet is the counsel by thy pages given; 
On life's dark ocean, our only chart. 



38 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"O precious volume! only in thy pages 
We read the duty of all our race; 
Only thy sunbeams, shining through the ages, 
Beveal the wonders of saving grace." 

The sweet words of Jesus that our lips were taught 
to frame in childhood's early morning shall cling to us 
forever. In the darkest hours of trial and affliction they 
furnish an unfailing light that leads to the brightness of 
a better day. When the pathway of life is pleasantest 
and happiest, our raptured spirits find joyous expression 
in thankful praise in the language of the living Word. 
And when the darkness of the long night gathers around 
us and we are about to begin our untried journey to the 
future land — bring us the Bible, blessed Bible ! It alone 
can give us the clear light of immortality. "I have es- 
teemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary 
food" (Job 23:12). 

"Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven." 



CONCERNING GOD. 



CHAPTER I. 

DOCTRINE OF GOD. 

By the term "God" we mean a perfect, conscious, in- 
telligent Being existing from eternity, the Cause of all 
created things. This idea seems so natural that the 
majority of men accept it as self-evident truth, without 
hesitating to give it any particular thought. But when 
able thinkers, as Kant , assert that God can not be known 
by means of pure reason, that he is not immediately 
discernible by the physical senses, we are led to reflect 
on the subject. If it be true that God can not be dis- 
covered by the five physical senses, we assert that there 
is in man a sort of sixth sense — an internal conscious- 
ness, a spiritual insight — that is able to discern our 
Creator, to realize his presence, and to feel his spiritual 
power. 

But aside from this, God has not left us without a 
witness whose testimony is sufficiently clear to satisfy 
all reasonable minds that there is a God. The simple 
argument is this: We are conscious that we exist and 
that we are something. Of this there can be no doubt. 
We are also certain that from nothing nothing comes; 
therefore we know that something has existed from 
eternity; for everything that has not existed from eter- 
nity had a beginning and must have been produced by 
something else. We are also aware that anything that 
has been produced by another has derived all of its 
powers from that source; hence the eternal Being must 
be the most powerful. Furthermore, man possesses moral 
consciousness, knowledge and intelligence, from which 



42 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

fact we are certain that the First Cause of our existence 
was from eternity a moral, knowing being. Only "the 
fool hath said in his heart, There is no God"; and he 
can say this only in his heart, not with the full consent 
of his mind; for if it be difficult to prove by means of 
the reason that there is a God, it is altogether impossible 
to prove by this means that there is no God. The wish 
is the father of the thought; for such sinful characters 
would be happy indeed if it were true that there is 
really no God. 

The writers of the Scriptures do not argue the exist- 
ence of God. The first chapter of the Bible opens with 
the words "In the beginning God/' and everywhere his 
being is assumed. But the Scriptures contain the revela- 
tion that he has made of his own nature and attributes. 
These attributes are so well understood and so generally 
acknowledged that I will merely refer to them, not giv- 
ing the multitude of texts by which they are set forth 
in the Scriptures. 

HIS ATTRIBUTES. 

1. Self -Existence. "The Father hath life in himself" 
(John 5:26). "For with thee is the fountain of life" 
(Psa. 36: 9). He is underived and inexhaustible. 

2. Eternity. "Before the mountains were brought 
forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, 
even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God" 
(Psa. 90: 2). The high and lofty One "inhabiteth eter- 
nity" (Isa. 57: 15). 

3. Spirituality. "God is a Spirit" (John 4:24). 

4. Unity — the One true and living God. "There is no 
God else beside me" (Isa. 45:21). 



THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. 48 

5. Immutability. "I am the Lord, I change not" 
(Mai. 3:6). "The Father of lights, with whom is no 
variableness, neither shadow of turning" (Jas. 1:17). 

6. Omnipresence; that is, he is everywhere present. 
"Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not 
see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and 
earth?" (Jer. 23:24). He is "not far from every one 
of us : for in him we live, and move, and have our being" 
(Acts 17:27, 28). 

7. Omniscience; that is, he is all-knowing. "Known 
unto God are all his works from the beginning of the 
world" (Acts 15: 18). "Neither is there any creature 
that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked 
and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do 
(Heb. 4:13). 

8. Omnipotence; that is, he has unlimited and univer- 
sal power. "His eternal power and Godhead" (Rom. 
1:20). "With God all things are possible" (Matt. 19: 
26.) 

9. Wisdom. "Blessed be the name of God forever 
and ever: for wisdom and might are his" (Dan. 2:20). 
"Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 
knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, 
and his ways past finding out!" (Rom. 11 : 33). 

10. Holiness and truth. "I am holy" (1 Pet. 1: 16). 
"Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst 
not look on iniquity" (Hab. 1: 13). "God that can not 
lie" (Tit. 1:2). 

11. Justice. God demands righteousness of all his 
intelligent creatures, and deals righteously with them. 
"Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne" 
(Psa. 89:14). "In every nation he that feareth him 



44 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

and worketh righteousness is accepted with him" (Acts 
10:35). 

12. Goodness — benevolence, love, mercy, and grace. 
"The goodness of God" (Rom. 2:4). "God so loved the 
world" (John 3:16). "His mercy endureth forever" 
(Psa. 136: 26). "The God of all grace" (1 Pet. 5: 10). 

13. Faithfulness. "God is faithful" (2 Thess. 3:3). 
Sarah "judged him faithful who had promised" (Heb. 
11:11). 

THE TRINITY. 

The theological term "trinity" signifies the union of 
three Persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — in the 
Godhead. This subject was a most fruitful source of 
theological controversy in the past ages, and even at the 
present day there are not wanting professed Christians 
who deny it altogether. Our present limits preclude an 
extended discussion of the matter, but I will bring for- 
ward a few points in its favor. 

The greatest controversy concerning the Trinity be- 
gan to rage during the third century and continued until 
the Council of Nice, A. D. 325. The special emphasis 
of the Alexandrine, or Greek, Fathers during this period 
was laid on the doctrine of the incarnation of Christ; 
and this, of course, precipitated a warm controversy as 
to his nature. In the beginning of the fourth century 
the Unitarians were led by an able man named Arius, 
who contended that Christ, being the Son of God, was 
not eternal, but was a creation of God, the highest, how- 
ever, of all created beings. This doctrine spread with 
great rapidity. When Constantine ascended the imperial 
throne and made Christianity the religion of the Roman 
state, he convoked the First General Council, at Nice, 



THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. 45 

for the purpose of settling this great controversy. Atha- 
naius, or Alexandrina, was the leader of those who con- 
tended for the essential divinity of Christ and his 
equality with the Father. This party was successful in 
the council, thus preserving to the world the idea of 
God triple in his unity, and one in his triplicity. The 
rejected doctrine is generally known as the Arian heresy. 

To many this doctrine of the Trinity appears like an 
unimportant matter, but in reality it is not. If Christ, 
with his marvelous perfections, be not truly God, then in- 
stead of bringing man to God, he has only succeeded in 
revealing to us the impassable gulf that exists between 
us and the divine One; but if he truly is "God manifest 
in the flesh" for the purpose of transforming sinful man 
into his own image, then we are assured of our moral and 
spiritual correspondence and communion with the Father 
in heaven. 

But the real cause of the rejection of this doctrine 
by many is its mystery or incomprehensibleness. But 
what of that? No one has yet shown that it involves a 
real contradiction. What demonstrated truth does it 
oppose? Are we not surrounded by many things that 
are in their real nature mysterious? Even man himself 
is a sort of trinity, possessing intellect, sensibility, and 
will; and yet these distinct elements are in some un- 
explained and perhaps unexplainable, manner wondrously 
blended in an undoubted unity. While this does not ex- 
plain nor prove the exact nature of the Godhead, yet 
it should lead us to expect in the Infinite One a greater 
degree of mystery than exists within ourselves, and 
should caution us against rejecting everything that can 
not be brought down to the level of the finite mind. 



46 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Since the exact manner of existence in the Godhead 
manifestly lies above and beyond the range of mortal 
mind, the basis of our theology respecting God should be 
laid solely in what is revealed to us in the Holy Scrip- 
tures. And if we appeal directly to them, we find it is im- 
possible to avoid the doctrine of the Trinity taught there- 
in without doing great violence to scores of plain texts 
bearing on the subject. The course of argument is as 
follows : 

1. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are repre- 
sented as special persons distinct from each other. 

2. They are classed together, separate from all other 
beings. 

3. Divine titles are applied to each. 

4. Divine attributes are ascribed to each. 

5. Divine works are attributed to each. 
Yet there is only one God. 

THE FATHER. 
The word "Father," referring to the Godhead, is 
used in Scripture in a twofold sense. First, it is ap- 
plied to God without any personal distinctions. "Blessed 
be thou, Lord God of Israel our Father" (1 Chron. 29: 
10). "Thou art my Father, my God, and the rock of 
my salvation" (Psa. 89:26). So also 2 Chron. 6:18; 
John 4:21, 23, 24, etc. Second, it is applied to God in 
contrast with Christ, who is thus distinguished as Son 
in his office of Redeemer. "All things are delivered unto 
me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son but the 
Father" (Matt. 11:27). Jesus answered them, "My 
Father worketh hitherto, and I work" (John 5:17). 



THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. 47 

So also Acts 2: 33; Rom. 15: 6; Gal. 1:1-4; and numer- 
ous other texts. 

THE SON. 
The passages already cited show that Christ is a 
person distinct from the Father. The following facts 
prove Scripturally that he is divine — equal with the 
Father himself: 

I. DIVINE TITLES ARE APPLIED TO HIM THE SAME AS 
TO THE FATHER. 

"Unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is forever 
and ever: a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of 
thy kingdom" (Heb. 1:8). "For unto us a child is born, 
unto us a son is given ; and the government shall be upon 
his shoulders: and his name shall be called Wonderful, 
Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, 
The Prince of Peace" (Isa. 9:6). "Behold, a virgin 
shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they 
shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted 
is, God with us" (Matt. 1 : 23). "In the beginning . . . 
the Word was God." "And the Word was made flesh, 
and dwelt among us" (John 1: 1, 14). "The church of 
God, which he has purchased with his own blood" (Acts 
20:28). So also John 20:28; Rom. 9:5; Phil. 2:6; 
Col. 2:9; Tit. 1:3; 1 John 5:20; Rev. 17:14, etc. 

II. DIVINE ATTRIBUTES ARE ASCRIBED TO HIM. 

1. Preexistence, or eternity. "Before Abraham was, 
I am" (John 8: 58). "The second man is the Lord from 
heaven" (1 Cor. 15:47). "That which was from the 
beginning" ( 1 John 1:1). "Who, being in the form of 
God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but 
made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the 



48 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men" 
(Phil. 2:6, 7). "0 Father, glorify thou me with thine 
own self with the glory which I had with thee before the 
world was" (John 17: 5). "And he is before all things" 
(Col. 1:17). "But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though 
thou be little among the thousands of Judea, yet out of 
thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in 
Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from 
everlasting [from the days of eternity, margin]" (Micah 
5:2). Nothing can be plainer than this last statement, 
that the Bethlehem babe preexisted, even from the days 
of eternity — coexistent with God himself. So also in 
the Revelation he is representd by that symbolic title 
signifying eternity, "Alpha and Omega." "I Jesus have 
sent mine angels to testify unto you these things. I am 
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first 
and the last" (Rev. 22:16, 13). Therefore the state- 
ment that Christ is the Son of God does not signify that 
he originated from the Father in the ages past, but 
should be interpreted with reference to his miraculous 
Virgin birth, thus denoting God's special relation to him 
in his office-work as the world's Redeemer. 

2. Omnipotence. "The government shall be upon his 
shoulder" (Isa. 9:6). "Jesus came and spake unto 
them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and 
in earth" (Matt. 28:18). "I am the resurrection and 
the life" (John 11:25). "He is able even to subdue 
all things unto himself" (Phil. 3: 21). He "is the head 
of all principality and power" (Col. 2:10). So also 
John 10:17, 18; Heb. 1:3; 2 Tim. 1:10, etc. 

3. Omnipresence. "Where two or three are gathered 
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" 



THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. 49 

(Matt. 18:20). "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
the end of the world" (Matt. 28:20). 

4. Omniscience. "He knew all men, and needed not 
that any should testify of man; for he knew what was 
in man" (John 2:24, 25). "Lord, thou knowest all 
things" (John 21:17). "Thou, Lord, which knowest 
the hearts of all men" (Acts 1 : 24). "In whom are hid 
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge" (Col. 2:3) 
Matt. 11:27; Rev. 2:23. 

Also, holiness, truth, justice, goodness, faithfulness, 
etc., are attributes of Christ. 

III. DIVINE WORKS ARE ASCRIBED TO HIM. 

1 . Creation. "God .... hath in these last days spoken 
unto us by his Son .... by whom also he made the 
worlds" (Heb. 1: 1, 2). "And thou, Lord, in the begin- 
ning hast laid the foundation of the earth ; and the heav- 
ens are the works of thine hands" (verse 10). "All 
things were made by him; and without him was not any- 
thing made that was made" (John 1:3). "For by him 
were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are 
in earth, visible and invisible .... all things were 
created by him and for him" (Col. 1 : 16, etc.). 

2. Redemption. "In whom we have redemption 
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Eph. 1:7). 
"He entered in once into the holy place having obtained 
eternal redemption for us" (Heb. 9:12). This phase 
will be more fully considered hereafter. 

IV. HE IS PREEMINENT ABOVE ALL THINGS. 

"He is Lord of all" (Acts 10:36). "Lord both of 
the dead and living" (Rom. 14:9). "God hath .... 



50 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

given him a name which is above every name" (Phil. 
2:9). "He is the head of the body, the church .... 
that in all things he might have the preeminence" (Col. 
1: 18). "Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right 
hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being 
made subject unto him" (1 Pet. 3: 22, etc.). 

V. HE IS A PROPER OBJECT OF DEVOTION AND WORSHIP. 

While the Scriptures denounce idolatry and enjoin 
the worship of the one true and living God only, they 
set forth Christ as A PROPER OBJECT OF DEVO- 
TION AND WORSHIP. "Let all the angels of God 
worship him" (Heb. 1:6). "All men should honor the 
Son, even as they honor the Father" (John 5: 23). "And 
they worshiped him" (Luke 24:52). Saints "in every 
place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord" 
(1 Cor. 1:2). "At the name of Jesus every knee should 
bow" (Phil. 2:10). So also Rev. 5: 13; 2 Tim. 4: 18; 
et al. 

THE HOLY SPIRIT. 

The Holy Spirit is also divine and is a distinct person 
from the Father and the Son. He is called the "Spirit 
of God" (Rom. 8:9), because of his proceeding from 
God; (John 15:26) also the "Spirit of Christ" (Rom. 
8: 9), because he is sent to do the work of Christ. 

I. HIS DIVINITY. 

This is shown by many scriptures. "It is not ye 
that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh 
in you" (Matt. 10:20). Compare Ezek. 36:27 with 
Acts 2: 17, 18. "Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias 
the prophet" (Acts 28: 25). "As many as are led by the 



THE DOCTRINE OF GOD. 51 

Spirit of God they are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14). 
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that 
the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?" (1 Cor. 3:16). 
Eph. 1:13; et al. 

II. HIS PERSONALITY. 

The personality of the Holy Spirit is shown by the 
following facts: 

1. He is associated with two other persons — Father 
and Son — as their equal. "In the name of the Father, 
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 28: 19). 

2. The personal pronoun "he" is applied to him. 
"Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will 
guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of him- 
self; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: 
and he will show you things to come" (John 16: 13). 

3. Personal acts are ascribed to him. "He shall teach 
you all things" (John 14: 26). "He shall testify of me" 
(John 15:26). "He will guide you into all truth" 
(John 16:13). "The Holy Ghost said" (Acts 13:2). 
"Being sent forth by the Holy Ghost" (verse 4). 

4. Particular attributes are ascribed to him. For ex- 
ample : Knowledge, 1 Cor. 2:11; will, 1 Cor. 12:11; 
power, Rom. 15: 13. 

III. HIS WORKS. 

1. In creation. "In the beginning God created .... 
and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters" 
(Gen. 1: 1, 2). So also Job 33:4; 26: 13; Psa. 104:30. 

2. In redemption. "Salvation through sanctification 
of the Spirit" (2 Thess. 2:13). God "giving them the 
Holy Ghost .... purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 



52 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

15: 8, 9). "He saved us, by the washing of regenera- 
tion, and the renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Tit. 3:5). 
So also 1 John 3: 24; Rom. 8:9, 14, 16, etc. 

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are classed 
together, separately from all other beings, as divine. 
"In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the 
Holy Ghost" (Matt. 28: 19). "The grace of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of 
the Holy Ghost, be with you all" (2 Cor. 13: 14). Also 
Jude 20, 21 ; 1 Pet. 1:2; Rom. 8: 14-17, etc. 
GOD'S WORKS. 

I. CREATION. 

1. Of angels. "Bless the Lord, ye his angels, that 
excell in strength, .... harkening unto the voice of his 
word" (Psa. 103: 20). "Where wast thou when I laid the 
foundations of the earth .... When the morning stars 
sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" 
(Job 38:4, 7). "His mighty angels" (2 Thess. 1:7). 

2. Of the material universe. "In the beginning God 
created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). 

3. Of man. "So God created man in his own image" 
(Gen. 1:27). 

II. PROVIDENCE. 

Having created all things, God now controls and con- 
serves all things in his vast universe in accordance with 
his own will. His intelligent creatures are made the 
subjects of a moral providential government. 



CONCERNING MAN. 



CHAPTER II. 

THE NATURE OF MAN. 

"What is man?" (Psa. 8:4). This is one of the great- 
est questions that has ever been asked. The Grecian 
sage whose maxim was, "Know thyself," enjoined upon 
men a task well-nigh impossible. The problem of man 
is well stated in three questions: What am I? Whence 
came I? Whither am I going? To the first one of these 
questions partial answers at least have not been wanting; 
but the other two, touching man's origin and destiny, 
have always remained a profound mystery aside from the 
light thrown thereon by divine revelation. 

Attempts have been made to account for man's origin 
by an ingenious theory of descent from lower animals, 
but this hypothesis utterly fails to satisfy the mind, from 
the fact that it does not account for the First Cause of 
all known things. Furthermore, it is certain that what- 
ever is evolved must in the first place have been in- 
volved; that is, the highest degree of development of 
which any object is capable was inherent in that object 
in its most undeveloped form. Thus, the nature and 
peculiar properties of the fully developed oak-tree were 
all present in some marvelous manner in the acorn from 
which it grew. To illustrate further: If it could be 
really shown that man has descended from the frog by 
a process of development, it would be certain that that 
primitive frog possessed in an undeveloped form all the 
marvelous faculties to be manifested later in a Newton, 
a Humboldt, or a Bacon. Mere development can not 



56 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

create nor develop new properties. So when the evolu- 
tionists affirm that man has descended from the moneron 
or some other simple form of primitive life, the mystery 
of the true origin of man's nature is not even touched ; for 
whence did this moneron derive those powers which 
are capable of such a high degree of development and 
perfection? Simply to throw these things a few million 
years further back does not account for the origin of 
anything, hence is no explanation whatever. Therefore 
man's origin, as well as his destiny, is a subject of 
revelation. 

ORIGIN. 

Turning to the Bible, we find the only satisfactory 
account of man's beginning. "So God created man in his 
own image .... male and female created he them" (Gen. 
1:27). From this original pair, Adam and Eve, the 
entire human race has sprung; for Eve is declared to be 
"the mother of all living" (Gen. 3:20). The Bible 
writers uniformly acknowledge this common origin of 
man. Thus, Malachi asks, "Have we not all one Father ? 
hath not one God created us?" (Mai. 2: 10). Paul af- 
firms that God "hath made of one blood all nations of 
men .... for we are also his offspring" (Acts 17:26, 
28). 

The unity of the human race has been acknowledged 
also by the greatest scientists and thinkers, Prof. Owen, 
Cuvier, Max Muller, Darwin, Locke, Humboldt, Chas. 
Bell, Buckland, Bunsen, Lord Brougham, James Mc- 
intosh, and others. This fact is important, for upon the 
unity of the race is based the one universal plan of re- 
demption. 

From whatever standpoint we view man, he appears 



THE NATURE OF MAN. 57 

IN GOD'S IMAGE. 

as the special workmanship of God, the highest type of 
earthly creatures, made "in the image of God," to use 
the language of the writer of Genesis. This expression, 
"image of God," is comprehensive. It implies that 
special characteristics of the Divine One not found in 
other earthly creatures are made a part of man's being. 
Thus, man is a moral being. In his normal state his 
actions are not determined by mere instinct or expedi- 
ency, or self-interest, but they are regarded as possess- 
ing in their own nature a clearly defined Tightness or 
wrongness. In this moral discrimination man is like 
God. In connection with this, he possesses freedom of 
will, so that he can of his own volition decide his course 
of conduct. He is also an intellectual being, possessing 
a mind capable of almost infinite development, one which 
easily grasps the mightiest problems within the range 
of finite environment. Man is also a spiritual being, a 
being that naturally looks up to God, "the Father of 
spirits," as its author, and holds sweet converse with its 
IVTaker 

UNDER MORAL LAW. 
As a moral and spiritual being in God's likeness, man 
originally was of necessity in a state of holiness and 
purity. According to the Word, he was placed under 
moral law. To this day men everywhere are firm in the 
conviction that they are the subjects of moral govern- 
ment, directly responsible to God. And this is also the 
uniform teaching of the Scriptures. But the original 
state of holiness was forfeited by sin; hence in this re- 
spect and to this extent the image of God was lost. In 
the redemption of Christ, however, holiness is regained; 



58 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

therefore we are restored to the image of God. "Lie 
not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old 
man with his deeds ; and have put on the new man, which 
is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that 
created him" (Col. 3:9, 10). 'That ye put off con- 
cerning the former conversation the old man .... and 
that ye put on the new man, which after God is created 
in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:22-24). 

A COMPOUND BEING. 

The Scriptures represent man as a twofold, or dual, 
being, possessed of body and soul, or body and spirit. 
"Glorify God in your body and in your spirit" (1 Cor. 
6:20). "That she may be holy both in body and in 
spirit" (1 Cor. 7:34). "His flesh upon him shall have 
pain, and his soul within him shall mourn" (Job 14: 22). 
"Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is 
renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4: 16). 

The "outer man," or body, is mortal. "Your mortal 
body" (Rom. 6:12). "Your mortal bodies" (Rom. 8: 
11). The body was created in this mortal condition, as 
the following facts show: 1. It was made out of the 
dust of the earth (Gen. 2:7). 2. It was given natural 
food to subsist upon (Gen. 1:29). 3. Man was given 
natural work to perform (Gen. 2: 15). 4. Matrimony 
was instituted (Gen. 1 : 27, 28). According to the words 
of Christ, marriage is an institution that does not per- 
tain to angels nor to beings wholly immortal, such as we 
shall be after the resurrection (see Luke 20:35, 36). 
5. There was use for the tree of life (Gen. 3: 22). Had 
man been created immortal as to body, this tree of life 
would have been entirely useless. 



THE NATURE OF MAN. 59 

But the crowning proof that man was originally 
mortal is the fact that he was "made" "a little lower 
than the angels" (Psa. 8:4, 5 with Heb. 2:6, 7). In 
what sense was man lower than the angels? Not 
morally or spiritually, for in these respects man was in 
God's image, and surely the angels are not higher than 
God is. What, then, does the expression mean? In 
Heb. 1 : 7 we read that God "maketh his angels spirits " 
that they are "all ministering spirits" (verse 14). Jesus 
plainly states that "a spirit h?th not flesh and bones" 
(Luke 24:39). Therefore we conclude that man's in- 
feriority to angels consists in his limitations due to a 
physical body, while the angels are wholly spirit-beings. 
That this inference is correct we can easily show by 
other scriptures. Paul asserts that in the resurrection- 
day "this mortal [body] must put on immortality" (1 
Cor. 15: 53) ; while Jesus says concerning his people in 
this "resurrection from the dead," "Neither can they die 
any more: for they are equal unto the angels" (Luke 20: 
35, 36). 

Now, according to the scripture cited in Psa. 8 : 4-8, 
man was "made" in this inferior condition at the time 
when he was given universal dominion over God's works, 
which shows clearly that his original condition physically 
was the same as now — not inherently immortal — and 
that no specific change took place in his bodily organism 
as a result of the fall. The foregoing points establish 
this point: it is simply unanswerable. The question now 
arises, Why, then, do the Bible writers state that death 
came upon mankind as a result of sin? The answer is 
simple. While man remained in the Garden of Eden 



60 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

with free access to the tree of life, his continued exist- 
ence without death was assured. And when, after the 
fall, the decree of death had been pronounced, this de- 
cree could be made effective only by depriving him of 
those privileges which had before sustained his life; 
therefore he was driven from the garden, "lest he put 
forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, 
and live forever" (Gen 3:22). This decree did not 
make him mortal, for he was mortal already — taken from 
the ground: it did not change him from immortality to 
dust, but God recognized his natural condition in the 
words "dust thou art." The real sentence of God 
against man, resulting from the fall, is expressed in 
the remainder of the verse — "Unto dust shalt thou re- 
turn'* (Gen. 3:19). In other words, the curse placed 
upon man was not mortality, but condemnation to the ef- 
fects of mortality; hence "by man came death." 

Since the body of man is by nature mortal, we read 
that it can be "destroyed" (Job 19: 26), "killed" (Matt. 
10: 28), it "perishes" (2 Cor. 4: 16), and returns to the 
dust of the earth (Gen. 3: 19). 

But is this all there is of man? No! What saith the 
Scriptures? "Though our outward man perish, yet the 
inward man is renewed day by day" (2 Cor. 4>: 16). 
"There is a spirit in man" (Job 32: 8). This soul, or 
spirit, is the creative work of God. "The souls which 
I have made" (Isa. 57: 16). It is the Lord that "layeth 
the foundation of the earth, and formeth the spirit of 
man within him" (Zech. 12:1). 

This is the specific sense in which God created man on 
the sixth day; for the physical substance out of which 
his body was formed was not created at that time, but 



THE NATURE OF MAN. 61 

it had been brought into existence previously. And for 
this reason the Almighty is termed "the God of the 
spirits of all flesh," which are made in his moral likeness 
(Num. 16:22), in contrast with the "fathers of our 
flesh" (Heb. 12:9). Our bodies partake of the nature 
of our earthly fathers, hence are subject to death and 
decay; while our spirits, made "in the image of God," 
partake of his essential nature, and "God is a Spirit" — 
"immortal, invisible" (1 Tim. 1:17). Therefore Jesus 
says plainly, "Fear not them which kill the body, but 
are not able to hill the soul'* (Matt. 10:28). David 
aflirms, "Your heart shall live forever" (Psa. 22:26). 
In language still plainer the apostle Paul shows that 
the soul is in its own nature eternal. "Though our out- 
ward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day 
by day .... While we look not at the things which are 
seen, but at the things which are not seen : for the things 
which are seen are temporal; but the things which are 
not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 4: 16-18). Lan- 
guage can not make the subject clearer. The very thing 
that he was talking about was the "outer man," in con- 
trast with the "inner man"; and the "outer man," being 
one of the things which are seen, is "temporal"; while 
the "inner man," being "not seen," is "eternal." And 
as if to make this truth still more emphatic, he says in 
the following verse: "For we know that if our earthly 
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a build- 
ing of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the 
heavens" (chap. 5:1). "Therefore we are always con- 
fident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, 
we are absent from the Lord .... We are confident, I 
say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and 



62 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

to be present with the Lord" (verses 6, 8). So the "outer 
man" is the body that perishes; while the "inner man/' 
the "eternal" man, is the "I" or "we" of our existence 
that is willing to depart from the earthly house or body, 
when it is "dissolved/' and "to be present with the Lord." 

This soul, or spirit, is the knowing, volitional, and 
responsible part of man. "For what man knoweth the 
things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ? 
even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the 
Spirit of God" (1 Cor. 2:11). Just as the Spirit of 
God knows the things of God, so the spirit of man 
knows the things of man. "Shall I give my first-born 
for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin 
of my soul?" (Mic. 6:7). This text fixes responsibility 
upon the soul; and since the soul is the knowing, voli- 
tional part of man, it is the real man. In James 2 : 26 
we read that "the body without the spirit is dead." 
The Scriptures represent the body as being only the 
instrument of the soul (see Rom. 6: 12, 13). Every 
appeal that God makes to man is addressed to the real 
man — the soul. 

This twofoldness of man Paul represented, in the 
scripture already cited, under the figure of a house and 
its occupant, thus showing their interdependence or re- 
lationship in the present state, wherein the spirit is in 
union with the natural body (2 Cor. 5:1-9). But he 
goes further and shows that the house is not indispen- 
sable to the existence of the occupant; that when it is 
"dissolved" the real man is "absent from the body" and 
"present with the Lord." In this scripture there are 
what may be termed two bodies, each the habitation of 
the soul. The first is the mortal body in which we now 



THE NATURE OF MAN. 63 

live, and "groan/' while "desiring to be clothed upon 
with our house which is from heaven." The second 
house is the immortalized body that will be received at 
Christ's second coming, when "mortality shall be swal- 
lowed up of life." But Paul also speaks here of an in- 
terval between these two, when we shall exist without a 
body; for when this earthly house is "dissolved" in 
natural death, we shall be "absent from the body," and 
be "present with the Lord." Let materialists answer 
this question: When is that time that we shall be absent 
from our body to be present with the Lord? Will it be 
at natural death? Will it be at the time of the resur- 
rection ? When ? 

Peter also describes the present union with the natural 
body and the separation at death, under the same figure. 
"As long as I am in this tabernacle .... knowing that 
shortly I must put off this my tabernacle" (2 Pet. 1: 13, 
14). Therefore the soul can exist while separated from 
the body — "absent from the body," but "present with the 
Lord." 

Again, in 2 Cor. 12:2-4 he says: "I knew a man in 
Christ above fourteen years ago (whether in the body, 
I can not tell; or whether out of the body, I can not tell : 
God knoweth .... How that he was caught up into 
paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not 
lawful for a man to utter." It is sometimes affirmed 
that a man is nothing without his body, but it is evident 
from this text that Paul had no such belief; for here he 
describes one who was caught up to paradise, and there 
saw and heard, and understood certain things ; yet he did 
not know whether the person was in the body or out of 
the body at that time. Paul believed that man is a dual 



64 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

being; that man can be separated from his body, and still 
be a seeing, knowing, thinking creature. What can 
materialists, who deny the distinct essence of the human 
soul, say in regard to this? Nothing, except to charge 
the apostle with ignorance on the subject. 

Again, he says: "For me to live is Christ, and to die 
is gain .... For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a 
desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far 
better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful 
for you" (Phil. 1:21-24). No amount of human 
reasoning can evade the plain statement here that to 
die meant, to the apostle, to leave the flesh, to "depart 
and be with Christ." 

Further, in Jesus' account of Lazarus and the rich 
man as recorded in Luke 16, we have this same doctrine 
of the survival of the spirit after death. Lazarus "died, 
and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: 
the rich man also died, and was buried; and in hell he 
lifted up his eyes, being in torments," etc. At this time 
the rich man had five brethren still living upon the earth 
(verses 28-31). It is useless to attempt to evade the 
force of this scripture by asserting, as do some, that it 
is "only a parable." It is not so stated. "There was 
sl certain rich man . . . .and there was a certain beggar, 
named Lazarus" (verses 19, 20). However, we have in 
the Gospels an account of more than thirty parables 
delivered by Christ, and every one of them is based upon 
truth. Now, if it be not possible for men to die and 
enter into a state of trouble and torment while they have 
brethren yet living on the earth, why should Christ 
invent such a misleading story as this ? Some assert that 
the people whom Christ addressed believed in such lies 



THE NATURE OF MAN. 65 

and that therefore he accommodated himself to them! 
Strange accommodation! Why, then do we not find 
such convenient accommodation on other occasions? To 
the Sadducees, who denied the separate and distinct 
existence of the human spirit (Acts 23:8), also the 
doctrine of the resurrection, Christ said, "Ye do err, not 
knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God" (Matt. 
22:29). Instead of accommodating his teaching to that 
which was false, he said, "Woe unto you, scribes and 
Pharisees, hypocrites !" 

When Christ took Peter, James, and John up into a 
mount and was transfigured before them, we are told 
that "there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking 
with him" (Matt. 17:1-3). While the Bible records 
that Elias was translated, it also states that Moses "died 
in the land of Moab" and was 'buried in a valley' (Deut. 
34: 5, 6). Now, how did it happen that Moses appeared 
here on the mount? He had not been resurrected from 
the dead into this glorified state, for the Scriptures de- 
clare that Christ was the first one to receive this change. 
Some people who had recently died were restored to life 
before this time, but such was only a restoration of the 
natural, corruptible body on the earth, and these persons 
were subject to death again. But the true "resurrec- 
tion from the dead," which places men in an incorrupti- 
ble state, is different from this. Therefore Christ was 
the "first-begotten of the dead" (Rev. 1:5); "the 
first-born from the dead" (Col. 1:18); "the first-fruits 
of them that slept" (1 Cor. 15:20). Yea, Paul argues 
that according to the prophets and the writings of Moses 
himself, "Christ should suffer, and that HE should be the 
first that should rise from the dead** (Acts 26:22, 23). 



66 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

But this transfiguration-scene was before the death and 
resurrection of Christ; therefore the decomposed body 
of Moses had not been brought forth from the dead. 
This fact, that Moses appeared on the mount of trans- 
figuration hundreds of years after his death, shows 
clearly that his soul was not involved in the ruin of his 
body. 

Jesus taught that the ancient prophets were still 
living, in the words, "I am the God of Abraham, and the 
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the 
God of the dead, but of the living" (Matt. 22: 32). The 
Sadducees to whom these words were addressed denied 
both the spirit of man and his resurrection (Acts 23 : 8) ; 
while Christ, by declaring that these patriarchs were 
still living, taught the doctrine of the spirit and its 
survival, which fact assured their final resurrection; for 
without the survival of the spirit there could not be a 
resurrection, as I will clearly demonstrate in Chapter 
XXIV of the present work. 

The apostle John in apocalyptic vision saw disem- 
bodied souls. "I saw under the altar the souls of them 
that were slain for the word of God .... and they cried 
with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and 
true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them 
that dwell on the earth" (Rev. 6: 9, 10). See also Rev. 
20:4. 

Natural death is the separation of body and spirit. 
To the dying thief Christ said, "Today shalt thou be 
with me in paradise" and in his last moment cried out, 
"Father, into thy hands I commend my spirih"' (Luke 
23: 43, 46). The dying Stephen also said, "Lord Jesus, 
receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59). This doctrine of the 



THE NATURE OF MAN. 67 

survival of the spirit is found throughout the Bible. 
"And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing (for 
she died)" (Gen. 35: 18). The death of Rachel, then, 
was the departure of her spirit from the body. "Fear 
not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the 
soul" (Matt. 10:28). "Though I walk through the 
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for 
thou art with me" (Psa. 23:4). To the Psalmist death 
was not a stopping-place, the end of conscious existence ; 
for he describes his relation with it as one of motion or 
travel — "I walk through." He was firm in the doctrine 
of the survival of the spirit. He says in another place, 
"The days of our years are threescore years and ten .... 
it is soon cut off, and WE fly away" (Psa. 90: 10). But 
where do WE go at death ? Let the Word of God answer 
—"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was : and 
the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" (Eccl. 12: 
7). "Man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go 
about the streets" (verse 5). "For me to live is Christ, 
and to die is gain .... For I am in a strait betwixt two, 
having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ, which is 
far better" (Phil. 1:21, 23). "To be absent from the 
body, and to be present with the Lord" (2 Cor. 5:8). 
"Let God be true, but every man a liar" (Rom. 3:4). 

The dying testimonies of thousands of saints confirm 
the doctrine of the Scriptures on this point — that at 
death the soul takes its departure from the body to be in 
a more sacred nearness with the Lord. In the most 
solemn hour of life this truth is so firmly stamped upon 
the heart that it finds expression in language unmis- 
takable. 

Now what can be brought against this solid array of 



68 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

divine truth as to the dual nature of man? Nothing ex- 
cept a few obscure texts which generally refer to some 
other subject. 

OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. 

The strongest text that can be found is Eccl. 9 : 5 — 
"The dead know not anything." True, that part of man 
which dies and goes into the grave knows nothing; but 
what about that part of his being which flies away at 
death, "returns to God who gave it/' rests "with Christ, 
which is far better," and is "eternal" (2 Cor. 4:18)? 
This statement that the dead know not anything, however, 
is qualified in the following verse by the words "anything 
that is done under the sun." This agrees perfectly with 
certain parallel expressions made in the Bible. For 
example: 2 Sam. 15: 11 — "And with Absalom went two 
hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called; and 
they went in their simplicity, and they knew not any- 
thing" This texts does not signify that they knew abso- 
lutely nothing, but simply indicates that they were alto- 
gether ignorant concerning the particular thing under 
consideration — Absalom's conspiracy. So also 1 Sam. 
20: 39 — "But the lad knew not anything; only Jonathan 
and David knew the matter." So also Paul says concern- 
ing the false teacher, "He is proud, knowing nothing" 
(1 Tim. 6:4). 

So even if it be contended that the word "dead" in 
Eccl. 9 : 5 refers to the departed spirit, as well as to the 
body, the text can not signify more than this: that they 
have no part in, or knowledge of, the works of man that 
are being performed on the earth. They are inhabitants 
of another realm; their knowledge, activities, and as- 
sociations are there. Therefore this text can in no wise 



THE NATURE OF MAN. 69 

invalidate the great multitude of clear texts that teach 
the conscious survival of the spirit. 

So also it is sometimes urged that Christ "only hath 
immortality" (1 Tim. 6:16). The answer is simple. 
The terms "mortal" and "immortal" are in the Scriptures 
applied to bodily conditions rather than to the soul and 
hence have no bearing whatever on the question of the 
soul's inherent nature. It is the body that is mortal (the 
soul is never described by this term), and "this mortal 
must put on immortality." Christ has risen from the 
dead with a glorified, immortalized body, "the first- 
fruit of them that slept," "death hath no more dominion 
over him" (Rom. 6:9); therefore he "only hath im- 
mortality." Even God and the angels do not have this 
"immortality"; Christ "only" possesses it. But this has 
no bearing whatever on the soul's conscious existence 
after death, for the immortality which we do not have 
now and which we shall receive in the future resurrec- 
tion, relates solely to a bodily condition. 

Spirit is by nature a deathless entity. "God is a 
spirit"; the angels are "ministering spirits," and who 
will deny that they are deathless beings? But "there is 
a spirit in man," and God himself is the "Father of 
spirits" ; therefore we must and do partake of the nature 
of his divine spirit in this respect. Fire is hot, and ice is 
cold, but these things are seldom described thus; for as 
it is the nature of fire to be hot and ice to be cold, all 
such qualifying words are manifestly superfluous. So 
also with spirit. It is entirely superfluous to say death- 
less spirit or immortal spirit, for it is by nature deathless. 

The so-called death of the soul, often spoken of in the 
Bible, is not the end of its conscious existence, as every 



70 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

one knows, but is simply spiritual death, spiritual separa- 
tion from God in this present world. "The soul that 
sinneth it shall die" (Ezek. 18:20). "Dead in tres- 
passes and sins; wherein in times past ye walked" 
(Eph. 2:1, 2). The soul dead — dead in a spiritual sense 
— and yet the individual alive and walking around on the 
earth. "Dead while she liveth" (1 Tim. 5:6). A mul- 
titude of texts could be given on this point. 

Again I say, It is entirely superfluous to use "death- 
less" or "immortal" when speaking of the actual essential 
nature of soul, or spirit, for it is by nature deathless. 
If such a description is given it occurs incidentally, rather 
than of necessity, as in 1 Pet. 3 : 4, where the "hidden 
man of the heart" (the "inner man," the soul) is spoken 
of as aphthartos, the same Greek word that in 1 Tim. 
1:17 is applied to Christ and translated "immortal." 

I have dwelt at some length on this point concerning 
the nature of man, because of its importance in the plan 
of redemption. Those who deny this doctrine are led, 
by logical necessity, to deny also the doctrine of the new 
birth and the reception of eternal life in this world; for 
how can it be said that man now possesses eternal life if 
death ends all until the day of resurrection? 

It is the spirit of man that is born again, that thrives 
on spiritual food and enjoys spiritual worship. The 
soul, as well as the body, is defiled by sin, and both are 
cleansed by the blood of Christ in New Testament sal- 
vation. In this happy, redeemed condition, the individual 
can look forward eagerly, as did the apostle Paul, 
to that time when the "earthly house" shall be forsaken 
and the released soul shall take its joyful flight to the 
realms of paradise "to be with Christ, which is far be> 



THE NATURE OF MAN. 71 

ter," yea, to be "absent from the body," but "to be present 
with the Lord/' there to enjoy his favors until the resur- 
rection-day, when, united with a risen, glorified body, it 
shall dwell forevermore in the final home of the blest. 
Amen. 



THE PROBLEM OF SIN. 



CHAPTER III. 

THE PROBLEM OF SIN. 

The presence of moral evil in God's universe is one 
of the great questions that has puzzled the mind of man, 
The Bible represents God as a being almighty in power, 
intrinsically good, and holy in all of his works; still we 
are confronted by the stupendous fact of sin in the world. 
Whence came it? 

ITS OBIGIN. 

The subject of the origin of moral evil and the reason 
for its existence naturally resolves itself into one of the 
three following positions, each of which has been earn- 
estly maintained by many people: 1. That God is the 
direct author of sin and is alone responsible for it, man 
being but an irresponsible agent in carrying out His will. 
2. That although sin is not according to the nature of 
God, he has seen fit to employ it as his method in bring- 
ing about certain good results not otherwise obtainable. 
This is somewhat related to the first position. S. That 
moral evil is in no sense according to God's will; that it 
forms no part of his plans, his purposes, or his ways; 
that it originated in the finite and by apostasy from God, 
and that therefore God is not responsible for it; that all 
his relations to it are antagonistic, and in the way of 
prevention, remedy, or punishment. 

The first position, that God is the direct author of 
sin, is so opposed to every revelation which God has 
made of himself in his Word, so utterly irreconcilable 



76 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

with reason and common sense, that I will dismiss the 
thought with but few words. 

God is the author of what is termed physical evil; 
therefore we read, "I make peace, and create evil: I the 
Lord do all these things" (Isa. 45: 7). "Shall there be 
evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?" (Amos 
3:6). Such evil consists of temporal punishments or 
judgments that God brings upon men because of their 
sins. God threatened the men of Nineveh with a great 
evil, even the entire destruction of their city; but when 
they turned from their wicked ways, "God repented of 
the evil which he had said that he would do unto them; 
and he did it not" (Jonah 3: 10). But God is not the 
author of moral evil, or sin; he is infinitely holy. It is 
blasphemy to charge upon God, "that can not lie" (Tit. 
1:2), all of the falsehoods that have been uttered during 
the ages; to state that the Holy One, who is "of purer 
eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity" 
(Hab. 1 : 13), is, after all, its direct cause. 

The second position, that sin is God's choice of meth- 
ods for bringing about the great good, has received a 
larger number of supporters. In this it is assumed that, 
although sin is contrary to the nature of God, it is never- 
theless according to his will that men should sin, in order 
that his glorious power may be manifested in bringing 
into effect the plan of redemption, so that the sinner can 
experience the exquisite delights and enjoyments of con- 
trast by being saved from sin. But if all this be neces- 
sary in order to insure happiness, the angels of heaven 
must be perfectly miserable; for as far as we know they 
have never had the privilege of experiencing this bles- 
sedness of contrast! 



THE PROBLEM OF SIN. 77 

IS NOT A DIVINE METHOD. 

God is absolutely perfect. Sin is not good; hence if 
God must choose sin in order to accomplish right, he is 
limited in his choice of methods. The Bible nowhere 
introduces sin as God's work or method. It is contrary 
even to the moral sense in man. Can we be on both 
sides of a moral question? Can God consistently de- 
cree that we shall sin, and at the same time prohibit us 
from doing it and threaten us with the direst punishments 
if we do? It is contrary to common sense to assert that 
God will forbid his own appointments. If men have 
secret thoughts, purposes, and desires contrary to those 
they make public, they are charged with hypocrisy. We 
understand the character of men by their methods, so 
that when their methods embrace the wrong we conclude 
that wrong is in their nature. If God's laws and his pur- 
poses are not in harmony, then we can expect nothing 
but confusion in morality. I can not conceive that the 
Most High acts toward sin in any other manner than in 
perfect accordance with his own nature. In other words, 
if sin is not in his heart, it is not in his plan. He dis- 
owns it. "All that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, 
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, IS NOT OF 
THE FATHER" (1 John 2: 16). 

The third position harmonizes with the moral sense in 
man, with our common sense, with the plain teachings of 
his Word, and with all the known facts in the case. 
Moral evil is contrary to God's nature, contrary to his 
plans, his purposes, and his ways. All of his relations 
to it are antagonistic. It originated in the finite and by 
apostasy from God. 

In the preceding chapter mention was made that man 



78 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

was created in God's image and is a moral being, placed 
under moral law. This fact, properly considered, fur- 
nishes a rational and Scriptural solution of the entire 
problem of sin, so far as it pertains to this world. "In 
the image of God" he was an intelligent being; for with- 
out intelligence creation would be without an object, and 
might as well exist only in the mind of God as out of it. 
Now, God being holy, he could no more make a sinful 
being than he could lie (which is declared to be impos- 
sible), for God is a power only in the direction of his 
own nature and attributes. But an intelligent being 
like himself he could and did make. Intelligence, how- 
ever, implies real cause, that the being so endowed pos- 
sesses inherently the power of acting voluntarily. With- 
out this element of moral freedom, this power of choice 
and determination of conduct, true intelligence could not 
exist. Are we not conscious of a personal, responsible 
"me" or "I," capable of self-activity ? All through the 
Bible this principle in man is recognized. 

MAN WHOLLY RESPONSIBLE. 

But with man possessing within himself the principle 
of cause as truly as does his Maker, so that he must act 
voluntarily, we see at once that it is within his sphere 
also to act wrongly. In other words, the possibility of sin 
inheres in all moral beings ; for manifestly it is im- 
possible to voluntarily act right without possessing the 
ability also to act wrong. This is the gist of the whole 
argument. The problem of sin is merely a problem of 
moral government. The individual with a personal will 
possesses a method and purpose exclusively his own. 
God is in no wise responsible for it. Having created 



THE PROBLEM OF SIN. 79 

man intelligent, in his own image, his responsibility in 
this respect ceased. The universe as a physical unit 
was incomplete, but when peopled with moral beings 
capable of rendering intelligent, voluntary service to 
God, the plan was perfect; therefore man stands out as 
the crowning work of God's creative effort. The prin- 
ciples of moral government must be everywhere the same ; 
therefore even the angels of heaven are under the same 
divine law that men are. But in this brief investigation 
I choose to dwell chiefly on the part that directly con- 
cerns man. 

SIN AND PREDESTINATION. 

The first chapters of Genesis give an account of how 
sin was introduced into this part of God's moral universe. 
It occurred by the wilful choice of our foreparents, and 
by this means they apostatized from God. Ever since 
that time God's relations to evil have been antagonistic, 
in the way of prevention, remedy, and punishment. But 
it must be borne in mind that in these dealings with men 
God has in all cases acted in strict harmony with those 
principles of moral government which he has himself 
ordained; so that even those individuals who have un- 
consciously fulfilled some part of God's plan in his re- 
lations to sin, have at the same time acted voluntarily. 
God has his own purposes ; men have theirs : but by infi- 
nite wisdom the Almighty is able to take advantage of 
men's wilful actions in carrying out their own evil de- 
signs, and thereby accomplish his own purpose in the 
world. He thus respects that moral freedom which he 
has created in the individual. 

These thoughts, carefully considered, explain what is 



80 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

probably the most difficult text in the Bible pertaining 
to this subject — Acts 2:23: "Him, being delivered by 
the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye 
have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and 
slain." Here the apostle Peter charges the Jews with 
the most atrocious wickedness in crucifying the Son of 
God, and yet in the same verse teaches that it was ac- 
cording to God's will that Christ should die. The pur- 
pose these men had in the act was evil, and they alone 
were responsible for it; therefore God, knowing their 
designs, simply delivered Christ into their hands, thus ac- 
complishing his own purpose, without violating in the 
least their free moral agency. This furnishes a rational 
solution of the oft-debated subject of predestination. God 
has predestinated or foreordained certain things, but 
these appointments were made in view of and in harmony 
with responsible human agency. A view of predestina- 
tion which makes God the sole cause, and man only an 
irresponsible or powerless agent of the Almighty, is in 
open hostility to the entire Bible; for the Word of God 
teaches that man has the power of choice and that his 
actions are therefore praiseworthy or blameworthy. 

As before stated, this principle of moral government 
explains everything pertaining to the subject. God 
claims no responsibility for men's methods and actions, 
except in his proper relations to them. He distinctly 
states, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are 
your ways my ways, saith the Lord" (Isa. 55: 8). Yet 
some would have us believe that everything that men do 
is in some secret and unexplainable manner according to 
the will of God. It is not true. Men's methods may or 
may not be in accordance witk the will of God. Through 



THE PROBLEM OF SIN. 81 

the exercise of an overruling Providence all things are 
made to "work together for good to them that love God" 
(Rom. 8: 28), but even here the principle of free moral 
agency is respected, so that man's moral actions result 
from their own voluntary desires. 

How often the question has been asked, Why did God 
permit sin in the first place ? From the foregoing we see 
that God could not prevent the possibility of sin and still 
constitute man an intelligent, self-acting agent like him- 
self. It is not a question of physical power, but a prob- 
lem of moral government. And this system of divine 
government is not simply a good one nor the best of 
several possible methods, but it is absolutely perfect like 
God, its Author. In this order alone can real honor and 
glory be given to God. A mechanical service is no ser- 
vice; but the loving, willing obedience of free, intelligent 
beings is a service absolutely perfect and therefore well- 
pleasing to God. 

NATURE OF SIN. 

Two verses of Scripture give us a correct interpreta- 
tion of sin. 1 John S : 4 — "Whosoever committeth sin 
transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression 
of the law." Jas. 4: 17- — "Therefore to him that knoweth 
to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin." Sin is 
therefore either the direct transgression of God's law or 
else the wilful failure to conform to its requirements. 
But God's law is an infinite law; therefore its violation 
becomes a serious offense, involving the soul in spiritual 
ruin, both in time and in eternity. "Is not thy wicked- 
ness great? and thine iniquities infinite?" (Job 22:5). 
The first act of this character committed by our fore- 



82 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

parents caused their banishment from Eden and the con- 
sequent train of sickness, pain, sorrow, and death. 

ITS UNIVERSALITY. 

The consciousness of sin is universal, all men having 
fallen under its dismal and blighting sway. One of the 
grand arguments of Paul in the Roman letter was to 
show that all men are sinners, in order that he might em- 
phasize the truth of Christ's mission as the universal 
Savior. He charges the Jewish nation with sin, notwith- 
standing their revealed law of God, and quotes their 
Scriptures to prove the assertion. His description of the 
Gentile world shows their wretched condition morally. 
Then he proceeds to say: "For when the Gentiles, which 
have not the law, do by nature the things contained in 
the law, these having not the law, are a law unto them- 
selves: which show the work of the law written in their 
hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their 
thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one 
another" (Rom. 2:14, 15). 

The argument is plain. The Gentiles, independent of 
the written revealed law of God, possessed a revelation 
of God's law within their own natures sufficient to fix 
responsibility; therefore in transgressing this law they 
also became sinners. He is not teaching that men are 
saved by their conscience, independent of revelation, but 
that they are by this means all condemned and lost. 
Listen to his conclusion: "We have before proved both 
Jew and Gentiles, that they are all under sin" (chap. 
3:9). "There is no difference: for all have sinned, and 
come short of the glory of God" (verses 22, 23). In 
another place he says, "The Scripture hath concluded 



THE PROBLEM OF SIN. 83 

all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ 
might be given to them that believe" (Gal. 3:22). It is 
unnecessary to multiply texts on this point. The uniform 
testimony of Scripture is that all men are "by nature 
the children of wrath." 



REDEMPTION. 



CHAPTER IV. 

THE REDEMPTIVE PLAN. 

The fall of man wrought a complete change in his 
nature and condition; the primitive purity was lost, and 
sin and condemnation rested upon his guilty soul. As 
a result, the entire race was plunged into the depths of 
sin; therefore all men stood in need of redemption. 

SELF-REBEMPTION IMPOSSIBLE. 

But redemption would imply a return to the original 
perfect state, both as to character and condition, and this 
restoration man could not of his own will effect. In the 
first place, there was a legal difficulty that he could not 
surmount. As a moral being, he had been placed under 
moral law, and this law required his perfect obedience. 
Its requirements might all be summed up in the words, 
"Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind" (Matt. 22: 
37). Thus, it will be seen that, having disobeyed, he 
could not make reparation for his transgressions, since 
no surplus obedience is possible. 

So also there was an insurmountable moral difficulty. 
Having lost purity and innocence, he could not by self- 
effort regain what had been lost. "Who can bring a 
clean thing out of an unclean? not one" (Job 14:4). 
Yet such a restoration is indispensable to redemption. 
"Except a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom 
of God" (John 3:3). "Follow peace with all men, and 
holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 



88 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

12:14). Self-redemption was therefore clearly impos- 
sible. 

Nor could the angels of heaven effect the redemption 
of man; for they also are God's intelligent creatures and 
therefore moral beings subject to moral law, which law, 
as in the case of man, exacts perfect obedience. The 
highest love, service, and obedience that they are able 
to render to the Almighty is only sufficient for themselves 
alone. Therefore in the nature of the case God only 
could redeem. 

MAN WHOLLY RESPONSIBLE FOR SIN. 

So far as we are able to determine, God was under no 
obligation to attempt the redemption of fallen man. His 
original work was perfect. Man's constitution was such 
that he was not obliged to sin; therefore the entire 
penalty for disobedience properly rested upon him. Those 
who rashly charge God with responsibility concerning 
man's sin should hesitate long enough to consider the 
fact that the universe is not a physical unit: that with 
intelligent creatures provision must be made for the 
operation of moral law and government. This accounts 
both for the fact of sin and for the responsibility for 
sin. And who will dare to say that this system is not in 
its own nature good — the only perfect one? Could man 
wish for the extinction of his personal, rational self — 
forfeit all the privileges of honor and virtue, of hap- 
piness and joy, in time and in eternity — in order to es- 
cape the responsibility of wilful disobedience? Perish 
the thought! 



THE REDEMPTIVE PLAN. 89 

WILL GOD REDEEM? 

Since God stands acquitted of all responsibility in the 
fall, is there any evidence that he will redeem? In the 
realm of nature we observe that God distributes many 
of his gifts to men irrespectively of their moral char- 
acter, "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor 
rewarded us according to our iniquities" (Psa. 103: 10). 
"Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of 
every living thing" (Psa. 145: 16). "He maketh his sun 
to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on 
the just and on the unjust" (Matt. 5: 45). The univer- 
sal prevalence of sacrifices testifies that men have in all 
ages believed that God would redeem. It is highly 
probable that this practise was instituted by God's ap- 
pointment (Gen. 3:21 with 4:4). If so, then we have in 
this a clear evidence of God's redemptive purpose. 

A DIVINE PLAN. 

Revelation itself, however, makes this subject clear. 
There existed in the divine mind a plan of restoration 
for fallen man. This plan was for ages a "mystery" 
to men and to angels, but it was the "hidden wisdom 
which God ordained before the world" and which centers 
in the crucifixion of the "Lord of glory" (1 Cor. 2:7, 8). 
Yea, he was a "Lamb slain from the foundation of the 
world" (Rev. 13:8). 

PROGRESSIVE REVELATION. 
But while this plan was from the beginning complete 
in the mind and purpose of God, its revelation to man 
was progressive. The first intimation we have is in Gen. 



90 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

3:15, where it is predicted that the seed of the woman 
shall bruise the head of the serpent. "The Lord had 
respect unto Abel and to his offering" (Gen. 4:4). In 
the days of Enos, son of Seth, men apparently had some 
relations with God; for we read, "Then began men to 
call upon the name of the Lord" (Gen. 4: 26). A little 
later "Enoch walked with God" (Gen. 5 : 24) ; while to 
Noah God manifested himself particularly. These facts 
are sufficient to show God's attitude toward the race. 

THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT. 

But when we come forward to the time of Abraham, 
we find a remarkable revelation of the plan of redemp- 
tion in the special covenant that God made with the 
father of the Hebrew nation. This covenant was divided 
into two parts. The first part related to Abraham and 
his literal seed: that God would make of him a great 
nation; that his descendants should sojourn for a time 
in the land of Egypt, after which God would bring them 
into the land of Canaan and give it to them for their 
inheritance. The second part of the covenant was of a 
spiritual nature; for in Abraham and his seed all the 
families of the earth should be blessed. (Gen. 12: 1, 2; 
13:14, 15; 15:5, 13-16; 17:1-8; 22:17, 18). 

This second division of the covenant so clearly de- 
picted Christ and his universal gospel that Jesus said, 
"Abraham rejoiced to see my day: he saw it, and was 
glad" (John 8:56). Paul says: "The promise that he 
should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham or 
his seed through the law [of Moses], but through the 
righteousness of faith .... therefore it is of faith, that 



THE REDEMPTIVE PLAN. 91 

it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be 
sure to all the seed ; not to that only which is of the law, 
but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who 
is the father of us all (as it is written, I have made thee 
a father of many nations)" (Rom. 4: 13-16). And 
again: "Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises 
made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as 
of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ." "That the 
blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through 
Jesus Christ, that we might receive the promise of the 
Spirit through faith" (Gal. 3:16, 14). 

THE LAW. 

In the fulfilment of the first part of this covenant to 
Abraham's seed, God gave the law of Moses, the osten- 
sible object of which was to govern and benefit the 
Israelitish nation, but the greatest object of which was 
doubtless to furnish a system of types and shadows — of 
sacrifices and ceremonies, offerings and oblations — 
pointing forward to the second division of the covenant, 
when the spiritual and real worship of God should be 
established among all the nations of the earth. This 
law, and the manner in which it was delivered, imparted 
a clearer revelation of God's nature and character, as 
^ell as of his plan, and thus furnished the means of 
disciplining the Jews in preparation for the coming 
Messiah. 

THE PROPHETS. 

The later prophets, however, were not limited to an 
external system of types and shadows, but the Spirit of 
God made known to them directly the higher standard 



92 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

of revelation to be brought about by Christ. Thus 
Isaiah affirms that "God .... will come and save you" 
(Isa. 35:4) and that this salvation would be effected 
by His vicarious suffering and death (Isaiah 53). Daniel 
predicted that the Messiah would come "to finish the 
transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make 
reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting 
righteousness" (Dan. 9:24). Joel prophesied that in 
the last days God would pour out his Spirit upon all 
flesh (Joel 2: 28, 29). Zechariah pointed to the fountain 
of cleansing for sin and ucleanness which should be 
opened in the house of David (Zech. 13: 1). 

CHRIST THE CENTER. 

Jesus Christ brought the highest revelation of God 
and taught a perfect standard of human conduct; but, 
above all, we find in him God's perfect remedy for sin. 
He came "to save his people from their sins" (Matt. 
1 :21). The beloved apostle says, "Ye know that he was 
manifested to take away our sins," and, "Whosoever 
abideth in him sinneth not" (1 John 3:5, 6). Thus the 
perfect moral restoration of man to the original condi- 
tion of holiness and purity is accomplished. He "gave 
himself for us, that he might REDEEM us from all 
iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, 
zealous of good works" (Tit. 2: 14). 

FUTURE REDEMPTION. 
The redemptive plan was not completely fulfilled, 
however, at the time of Christ's first advent. So far as 
the soul is concerned, tke means was provided for its 



THE REDEMPTIVE PLAN. 93 

moral restoration. But we have seen that the fall also 
affected man physically. It was doubtless God's original 
design "that mortality might be swallowed up of life," 
that mortal man in the Garden of Eden should, by par- 
taking of the tree of life, be immortalized and never 
die. But since through sin this purpose was frustrated, 
it has now become a part of the redemptive plan "that 
mortality might be swallowed up of life" (2 Cor. 5:4). 
And since, because of original sin, it has been "ap- 
pointed unto men once to die" (Heb. 9:27), that part 
of the redemptory scheme relative to our immortaliza- 
tion has been deferred until the last great day, the Jay 
of resurrection, when "this corruptible must put on in- 
corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality" 
(1 Cor. 15:53). 

Paul recognizes the fact that our bodies are included 
in the redemptive work; for he says, "Know ye not that 
your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost? .... For 
ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in 
your body, and in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 
6: 19, 20). He refers to those who have been saved, and 
sealed by the Holy Spirit, and possessing an "earnest 
of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased 
possession" (Eph. 1:13, 14), thus clearly indicating a 
phase of redemptive work yet future. In another place 
he describes our immortalization, when mortality shall 
be "swallowed up of life," and declares that God "hath 
wrought us for the selfsame thing" and "hath given unto 
us the earnest of the Spirit" (2 Cor. 5: 1-5). And again, 
he says that we "which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, 
even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for 



94 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

the adoption, to wit, the REDEMPTION of our body" 
(Rom. 8: 23). The body is now the recipient of certain 
redemptory blessings, which will be considered in Chapter 
X, but its greatest benefit is yet future. 

IMPORTANCE OF THE PROGRESSIVE VIEW. 

A knowledge of this progressive feature of God's re- 
demptive work is absolutely necessary to a correct under- 
standing of what the Bible really teaches. Since the 
plan itself was revealed to men by degrees, the scriptures 
that record these successive revelations are naturally pro- 
gressive from the lower to the higher. Such a method 
was necessary because of man's constitution, for with 
him all knowledge is acquired progressively, and society 
can be advanced only by a gradual evolution. Due re- 
gard to these facts will furnish a standing answer to 
that class of Bible critics who delight in arraying one 
part of the book against the other. They affirm that 
certain personal acts of righteous men in olden times 
would not be tolerated in decent society now; that God's 
commands to Joshua, for example, are irreconcilable with 
the Sermon on the Mount, etc. But the Bible was not 
written all at one time, neither are all of its parts ap- 
plicable to all men in all ages of the world. Are we not 
informed in the Word itself that the revelation which God 
made of his will to the fathers in past ages occurred "at 
sundry times" and "in divers manners" (Heb. 1:1)? His 
method of revelation was adjusted to the nature and the 
condition of men, and was therefore progressive, so that 
at times one part was made to succeed another part. But 
progress was always upward. The unity that we find in 



THE REDEMPTIVE PLAN. 95 

all parts of the Bible is a unity of purpose and plan, 
which God was constantly seeking to make known to man, 
and by which man was being gradually elevated; that is, 
THE REDEMPTIVE PLAN. 



CHAPTER V. 

CHRIST AND THE ATONEMENT. 

Sin is a universal fact. We have seen that there is 
no self-redemption, and that even the angels of heaven, 
being under the same divine law that exacts perfect 
obedience, can have no surplus obedience to atone for 
fallen man. Only a being over whom the law had no 
jurisdiction was adequate to the task. There is no proof 
that God was under any obligation to undertake man's 
restoration; but on the supposition that he was willing to 
do this, the necessity of a redeemer is obvious. It is 
also evident that in accomplishing this result God must 
do it righteously. The moral law of his moral govern- 
ment could not be ignored or set aside, but all of its just 
claims must be fully vindicated; therefore the Redeemer 
must come under the law, under its jurisdiction and 
power. In this we see the 

NECESSITY OF THE INCARNATION. 

The word "incarnation," derived from the Latin, sig- 
nifies "in the flesh." To become incarnate, then, signifies 
to become a man. So long as Christ remained in the 
sphere of absolute Godhead, he could not be subject to 
the jurisdiction of his own objective law; neither could 
he in any sense directly affect man in the way of redemp- 
tion, there being no point of contact with man. He 
could not cease to be God and thus become a mere 
creature under the law's jurisdiction; but it was possible 
for him to come out of the sphere of absolute Godhead 



98 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

into the sphere of a real manhood, by assuming the 
human form and human nature in connection with his 
divinity. In this the divine nature was not changed into 
the human, so as to become essentially what it was not 
before; but the two distinct elements, human and divine, 
were in some mysterious manner united in the same form 
of being. "Forasmuch then as the children are partakers 
of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of 
the same .... For verily he took not on him the nature 
of angels ; but he took on him the seed of Abraham" (Heb. 
2: 14-16). "Christ Jesus .... being in the form of God 
.... made himself of no reputation, and took upon him 
the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of 
men" (Phil. 2:5-7). 

The New Testament in numerous passages speaks of 
Christ as both human and divine. The apostle John 
begins his epistle with Christ as God, engaged in the work 
of Creation; after wnich he follows him through his 
earthly career among men. On the other hand, Matthew 
and Luke begin with his earthly birth and trace him 
through life and to his glorification and assumption of 
the Father's throne in heaven. But the result is the 
same in both cases. He was the divine One humiliated, 
and the human One glorified — both God and man. 

THE VIRGIN BIRTH. 

To reject the doctrine of the incarnation is in effect 
to reject the whole Bible; for not only does the New 
Testament revolve around the Person of Christ, as God 
incarnate, but the Old Testament stands committed to 
the same truth, as it contains direct prophecies of the 



CHRIST AND THE ATONEMENT. 99 

incarnation. Isaiah distinctly affirmed that the "mighty 
God, the everlasting Father/' should be born as a child, 
should assume divine government on the earth and sit 
upon the throne of David (Isa. 9:6, 7). Micah taught 
that this "ruler in Israel" should come forth from 
Bethlehem, but that he had existed "from the days of 
eternity" (Mic. 5:2). Isaiah also stated that he should 
not be born according to ordinary generation, but that he 
should be born of a virgin, thus setting forth a super- 
natural origin (Isa. 7: 14). The enigmatical passage in 
Jer. 31:22 probably relates also to the virgin birth: 
"The Lord hath created a new thing in the earth, A 
woman shall compass a man." If the foregoing texts do 
not teach the earthly birth of a divine being, it would 
be difficult to state such a fact if desired. 

The mystery of such a union of the divine and the 
human is no sufficient cause for its rejection, for we are 
surrounded everywhere with things that are in their 
nature mysterious to us. Some professing Christians 
have been rather inclined to doubt the story of the virgin 
birth ; but it seems to me that if the divine was to become 
human, nothing could be more natural than that his 
introduction to this world of sin should occur in some 
extraordinary manner. The constant phenomenon of or- 
dinary generation, which is the first principle of biology, 
has never received a satisfactory explanation. But 
one fact is certain — man is here; and it is also certain 
that there was a time when man was not. Why should 
it be difficult to ben* eve that the Power which made the 
first man without either parent should now make another 
man with the assistance of only one parent? In no other 



100 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

way could Christ have become both human and divine, 
thus forming a middle link by which man could be united 
with God. 

EVIDENCES OF CHRIST'S DIVINITY. 

The special evidences of Christ's divinity are so numer- 
ous that an entire volume would not be sufficient for a 
careful treatment of the subject; therefore I can refer 
only to a few of them and to those in the briefest man- 
ner possible. 

1. The prophecies of the incarnation were all fulfilled 
in him. He was born of a virgin (Isa. 7:14), was 
born in Bethlehem (Mic. 5: 2), etc. The Old Testament 
abounds in prophecies concerning the birth, ministry, 
mission, death and resurrection of the Messiah — more 
than three hundred in all — and all were completely ful- 
filled in Jesus of Nazareth. To these prophecies more 
than to everything else the first preachers appealed in es- 
tablishing the fact of the Messiahship of Jesus. Thus, 
Apollos "mightily convinced the Jews, and that pub- 
licly, showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ" 
(Acts 18:28). 

2. The types of the Old Testament were fulfilled in 
him. The blood of piacular victims which had from the 
days of Abel flowed freely in atoning sacrifices for the 
sins of men all pointed forward unmistakably to a great 
Sacrifice, even the sacrifice of our Lord. 

3. He bore the divine names. "Jehovah," "God," "Em- 
manuel," "Lord of all," "the mighty God," "Everlast- 
ing Father," "the true God," "King of kings, and Lord 
of lords," etc. 



CHRIST AND THE ATONEMENT. 101 

4. Divine attributes are ascribed to him. (See Chap- 
ter I.— SON). 

5. He wrought divine works and miracles. He claimed 
"power on earth to forgive sins/' thus showing that he 
was God. He turned water into wine, multiplied loaves 
and fishes, walked on the raging waves of Galilee and 
stilled its storms, thus proving that he was Lord of crea- 
tion. He cast out evil spirits, healed the bodies of the 
sick and suffering, and even raised the dead, thus demon- 
strating his universal dominion. These evidences were 
convincing to many. Even Nicodemus was constrained 
to acknowledge them. "Rabbi," he said, "we know that 
thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do 
these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him" 
(John 3:2). 

6. Divine honors were claimed by him. He claimed 
equality with the Father (John 5:18), a divine glory 
with the Father "before the world was" (John 17:5); 
and he taught that "all men should honor the Son, even 
as they honor the Father" (John 5:23). These claims 
to divine honors were all recognized by the apostles, and 
they united in the worship of Jesus as the only one 
through whom salvation could be obtained (Acts 4: 12). 
Paul declared that "at the name of Jesus every knee 
should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and 
things under the earth ; and that every tongue should con- 
fess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the 
Father" (Phil. 2:10, 11). 

7. His unexampled human character. Today there 
are many men like Thomas, honest skeptics, men who 
are not to be convinced by mere claims, but who require 



102 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

something more tangible — the evidences of their senses, 
or clear arguments that appeal to the reason. If such 
men will carefully study the human character of our 
Lord, they will find an abundance of evidences that 
Christ was more than a mere man, and, like Thomas, 
after having put his finger in the print of the nails and 
thrust his hand into the pierced side, they will exclaim, 
"My Lord and my God \" 

In the first place, his life was one of freedom from sin. 
Not one blot or sin rests upon his character. In the face 
of his enemies he could say, "Which of you convinceth 
me of sin?" (John 8: 46). If men do not believe in his 
virgin birth, let them account for his virgin life; for his 
life was one of absolute holiness and perfection. In this 
he differs from all other men, not only in degree, but 
also in kind; for all others possess the nature of evil, and 
"have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." 
Jesus was the only sinless one that has ever trod this 
earth of ours. In this he appears as something more 
than human. 

Note also the profound wisdom manifested in his life 
and discourses. Whence did all these "treasures of 
wisdom and knowledge" proceed? Was he a self-made 
man? The successes of all self-made men can be traced 
to definite causes — peculiar circumstances, books, con- 
tact with learned people, etc. But Jesus had no ad- 
vantage of training among the illustrious men of his day, 
he grew up among the illiterate folk in an insignificant 
and despised Galilean town, without education, without 
books, and without favorable surroundings. At the 
beginning of his ministry his own people marveled, say- 



CHRIST AND THE ATONEMENT. 103 

ing, "How knoweth this man letters, having never 
learned?" (John 7: 15). Yet all the wisdom of the ages 
pales into insignificance in comparison with the sayings 
of Jesus of Nazareth. "He taught them as one having 
authority" (Matt. 7:29). He spoke the final word on 
every moral subject. The verdict of the officers sent 
to arrest him has been the verdict of the ages — "Never 
man spake like this man" (John 7: 46). 

Another thing worthy of notice is the universal char- 
acter of his teachings. Himself a Jew, dressed as a Jew, 
living in the land of the Jews at a time when the Jews 
were narrow and bigoted, reared under local circum- 
stances suited to make one still narrower, Jesus towered 
above all of these things and laid down the principles 
of universal righteousness. The gospel that he preached 
is applicable to all times and to every nation under 
heaven. Whence did he derive such a remarkable insight 
into human nature as is depicted even in that one sermon 
on the mount ? Admit the divine element, and all becomes 
clear. "He knew all men, and needed not that any one 
should testify of man: for he knew what was in man" 
(John 2:24, 25). 

But this universal character of his doctrines is not all. 
He is himself the universal model. All other great men 
belong to particular nations or classes of men, and not 
one of them will serve as a model for all men. It has 
been said that the greatest men have the greatest faults 
and failings, just as the tallest men cast the longest 
shadows. But Jesus belongs to the whole race. He 
towers above all others, and yet he was without sin, and 
lived without fault or mistake. From whatever stand- 



104 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

point one views his earthly life, he stands forth as the 
greatest moral miracle of history. This fact has been 
acknowledged even by men who are generally ranked as 
unbelievers — Cobbe and Renan, Strauss and Diderot, 
Richter and Rousseau; while Napoleon, recognizing the 
nature of Christianity and of its Founder, exclaimed, 
"I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ was not 
a man." 

8. His death and resurrection. The trial and cruci- 
fixion of Jesus reveals something more than human. 
Though mocked and abused, he betrayed no trace of 
anger or resentment; nailed to the cross, and expiring in 
frightful agonies, he pronounced no words of hatred or 
revenge upon his malignant foes, but prayed instead, 
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." 
No wonder that Rousseau the infidel, in a few of his sober 
moments, exclaimed, "If the life and death of Socrates 
were those of a sage, the life and death of Jesus are 
those of a god." 

But the resurrection of Christ is the grand climax of 
all. This historical fact has never been affected by the 
false reports of lying Jews and the vain reasonings of 
unbelievers. All of the evidences go to sustain the 
gospel narratives of this event. Fraud there could not 
be. The timid disciples who fled when Christ was ar- 
rested would certainly not have ventured to overpower 
the Roman guard and steal the body of Jesus. Further- 
more, the risen Lord appeared after his resurrection to 
hundreds of people. When Paul stood before King 
Agrippa and declared that Christ had suffered and risen 
*rom the dead, he said, 'I am persuaded that none of 



CHRIST AND THE ATONEMENT. 105 

these things are hidden from thee; for this thing was not 
done in a corner' (Acts 26:26). Had the apostles de- 
sired to establish a falsehood concerning the resurrection, 
they would have selected some place other than Jerusa- 
lem to begin their deception, for all of the facts were 
easily obtainable there at the time. And it must be re- 
membered also that these apostles and thousands of 
other Christians gave their own lives in defense of the 
doctrine of a risen Christ. 

THE ATONEMENT. 

"We also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 
by whom we have now received the atonement" (Rom. 
5 : 11). Christianity is based upon the death of Christ, 
as the one great atonement for the sins of men. Many 
men professing adherence to the Christian faith, however, 
have practically dispensed with the real feature of the 
atonement. They tell us that it is the life of Christ, not 
his death, that saves men; that he set an example of 
right-doing, and that we are saved by following his ex- 
ample. They extol the beauty and excellence of his 
character and teaching, and end by saying that he died 
the death of a martyr to a good cause. 

Such is only a partial view of Christ's mission and des- 
troys the grand proportions and harmonies of the whole. 
The Word plainly teaches that more was required in 
order to effect our salvation than a mere example of 
piety. "For, when we were enemies, we were reconciled 
to God by the death of his Son, much more, being recon- 
ciled, we shall be saved by his life" (Rom. 5: 10). He 
"was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again 



106 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

for our justification" (Rom. 4:25). 'Tor Christ also 
hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that 
he might bring us to God" (1 Pet. 3: 18). "All have 
sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3 :23). 
Therefore if sinful men were to reform and then follow 
perfectly the outward example of Christ's right-doing, 
this course would in no wise dispose of the sins of their 
past life; for they can not have surplus obedience as a 
result of their present righteousness, and thus make 
reparation for the sins of the past. But "Christ died 
for our sins, according to the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15: 3). 
Those who repent and are converted have their sins 
4 blotted out," yea, they are washed from their sins in his 
own blood (Rev. 1:5). No, the death of Jesus Christ 
was not the death of a martyr. He died voluntarily as 
God's own sacrifice for sins. Hear his own words: "I 
lay down my life, that I might take it again. No wan 
taketh it from me, but I LAY IT DOWN OF MY- 
SELF" (John 10:17, 18). 

ITS NECESSITY. 

According to the foregoing considerations, we see that 
the necessity of incarnation and atonement lay in the fact 
of sin itself and in God's plan to redeem man righteously. 
God could not consistently set aside his righteous law and 
pardon men at the expense of his infinite Justice; while 
at the same time his infinite Love for man demanded ex- 
pression; hence the necessity of atonement. I am aware 
that some men ridicule the idea of an atonement which 
resulted from a "schism in the divine nature," but the 
Scriptural doctrine of atonement does not necessarily 



CHRIST AND THE ATONEMENT. 107 

imply that God is divided and tkat his attributes are at 
war with each other. Do not we as men possess, though 
in a lesser degree, these same principles of justice and 
love? and do they not both find expression in our lives? 
yet who ever thought of representing these principles as 
a schism in the human nature — a man eternally at war 
with himself? But the Bible does clearly teach that as 
a result of the atonement God can be "just" and still be 
"the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Rom. 3: 
26). This shows that God could not be just (maintain 
his just and holy law) and pardon men without a ran- 
som price. Man could not ransom himself — the price was 
too great ; angels could not ; but, thank God ! he "so 
loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
everlasting life" (John 3: 16). 

Christ as God could satisfy the claims of infinite 
Justice; therefore the way of redemption was made pos- 
sible. Being an infinite Sacrifice, he could pay the debt 
to infinite Justice for all men. It is the character of the 
Sacrifice itself that makes the atonement of such infinite 
worth. In the exact use of the term, God does not 
"pardon" sin at all, for infinite Justice has exacted the 
infinite penalty for all committed sins. The forgiveness 
of sins which God grants is "for Christ's sake" (Eph. 
4: 32), "who his own self bare our sins in his own body 
on the tree" (1 Pet. 2: 24). 

While one purpose of the atonement is to change the 
relations of God with men, it is also designed to change 
the attitude of men toward God. When the transgressor 
is made to realize the awful nature and extent of his sin, 



108 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

and to see that he is deserving of infinite punishment, his 
heart sinks in despair; but if his attention is then turned 
to Calvary, to the dying agonies of the God-man, as the 
one who "gave himself for us," hope revives, and love for 
the Redeemer springs up in the sin-benighted soul, while 
the blood washes away the guilt of all past transgres- 
sions. Halleluiah! Then he is ready to exclaim, as did 
the apostle John, "We love him, because he first loved 
us" (1 John 4: 19). Yes, it is this exhibition of God's 
love to us that wins back our wandering hearts' affections, 
and draws them out, and forever fixes them upon the 
Savior. This is the secret of regeneration. 

ATONEMENT AND REDEMPTION. 

In order to understand the subject of the atonement, 
we must carefully define the terms by which our ideas 
are conveyed. In popular usage the signification of the 
word "atonement" is very much the same as if it were 
pronounced at-one-ment, thus expressing a result rather 
than a cause. But in the Scriptures, as well as in critical 
usage, atonement is placed in the relation of cause, 
while redemption is the effect. Now, there are clear 
differences between these two, and this distinction of 
cause and effect must be carefully observed; otherwise 
all of our thinking on the subject will be chaotic. They 
differ both in design and in object; therefore what may 
be properly affirmed of the one may not be of the other. 

The proper idea of atonement is the satisfaction which 
Christ in his death paid to the justice of God, and by 
which the relations of God toward guilty men were al- 
tered. Thus, we see that the atonement was Godward; 



CHRIST AND THE ATONEMENT. 109 

but redemption, on the other hand, is manward. In other 
words, the atonement was a sacrifice offered to God ; while 
redemption is a benefit conferred upon men. The design 
of the atonement was to render God propitious, to change 
his relation toward men, "that he might be just, and the 
justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" (Rom. S: 26) ; 
whereas the design of redemption is actually to change 
the relations of men toward God, thereby making them 
holy. So also there is a difference in their nature. The 
atonement was a sacrifice of inestimable value — infinite — 
"the precious blood of Christ." It was sufficient to sat- 
isfy God's infinite justice and cover the sins of the whole 
race; therefore it is useless to talk about any limita- 
tions here. But redemption, on the other hand, was not 
infinite in this respect, but definite — clearly limited to 
the number of those who accept it; for it stands insepa- 
rably related to man as its object. Redemption is not 
an offering for sin, but is the deliverance of men from sin 
by means of an offering already made; hence it is said 
that Christ "by his own blood" "obtained eternal redemp- 
tion for us" (Heb. 9: 12). For this reason the word is 
used for salvation, which signifies our actual deliverance 
from sin (Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18); also for the resur- 
rection, which is the actual deliverance of our bodies 
from mortality (Rom. 8:23; Eph. 1: 14; 4:30). 

Furthermore, the atonement was unconditional; while 
redemption is, on the part of man, wholly conditional. 
In other words, Christ made the atonement freely and 
unconditionally for all men, whether they believe it or 
do not. As a result of this he offers redemption to all, but 
no coercion or force is brought to bear upon man to secure 



110 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

his belief in it or his acceptance of it. It is altogether 
a matter of his own free will. Many men. indeed the 
most of men, either neglect it or reject it. Now, this 
being true, it is evident that it was possible that all men 
should h*ive rejected it, and therefore not a single person 
have been saved. Why? Simply because the atonement 
itself did not directly confer salvation upon any man — 
it was Godward, a sacrifice offered to God in order to 
render him propitious — while redemption is entirely con- 
ditional. But the atonement is the ground of redemption. 
Another thing: The atonement was made once and for 
all, not partially, but completely; so that it has for centu- 
ries been a finished work. "The offering of the body of 
Jesus Christ [was] once for all" (Heb. 10: 10). He "of- 
fered one sacrifice for sins forever" (verse 12). And 
when this was accomplished, he cried out on the cross, 
"It is finished" (John 19:30). Here we see the atone- 
ment as a finished work. But the plan of redemption, 
which upon certain conditions bestows upon us all of the 
redemptory blessings, is in daily progress, and it will 
continue until the end of time, when we shall receive the 
"redemption of our body" as the last great benefit con- 
ferred upon men. 



CHAPTER VI. 

CONDITIONS FOR SALVATION. 

The mission of Christ was " to save his people from 
their sins" (Matt. 1:21). We have seen that man is 
universally lost in sin, but that a way of restoration to 
holiness has been provided through Jesus Christ, and 
that it rests upon his atonement. But thus far our at- 
tention has been directed mainly to the divine side: 
there is also a human side to the realization of redemp- 
tion blessings. Man was not lost unconditionally ; there- 
fore redemption is not unconditional. As man was origi- 
nally a responsible agent under law, which he volun- 
tarily transgressed; so also the plan of restoration is 
made to agree with his responsible agency, so that he 
must of his own volition accept the law of Christ if he 
desires to receive the benefits of the atonement. 

It is the uniform testimony of the New Testament 
that salvation is a matter of individual choice. All its 
offers and promises are addressed to the individual him- 
self for decision, and all the blame for its neglect or 
rejection is laid upon him. "Come unto me, all ye that 
labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest," are 
the words of the Savior (Matt. 11:28). "If any man 
thirst, let him come unto me and drink" (John 7:37). 
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock : if any man hear 
my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him" (Rev. 
3: 20). "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life 
freely" (Rev. 22: 17). "Ye will not come to me, that ye 
might have life" (John 5:40). "O Jerusalem, Jeru- 



112 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

salem! .... how often would I have gathered thy chil- 
dren together .... and ye would not! Behold, your house 
is left unto you desolate" (Matt. 23:37, 38). "How 
shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" (Heb. 
2:3). 

Salvation is the most important subject in the world. 
It should concern every one of us, for without it our 
souls will be lost through a never-ending eternity. And 
since it is offered to man conditionally, how important 
it is that we understand these conditions in order that 
we may approach God in an acceptable manner and re- 
ceive this greatest of gifts ! 

A SPIRITUAL AWAKENING. 
Sin produces spiritual death to the soul. "Your sins 
have separated between you and your God" (Isa. 59: 2), 
and this separation is represented as death (Eph. 2:1; 
Col. 2:13; 1 Tim. 5:6, etc). Men become "hardened 
through the deceitfulness of sin" (Heb. 3:13). "Even 
their mind and conscience is denied" (Tit. 1: 15). They 
sink into the darkness of a sinful night, until, in many 
cases, there seems to be "no fear of God before their 
eyes," or until they appear to lose all consciousness of 
"the exceeding sinfulness of sin." How sad! Yet it is 
true, nevertheless, that many reach the state where sin 
does not appear to them so very bad, and righteousness 
does not appear very good. Their standard of conduct 
is not determined by God's revealed law, but is regu- 
lated wholly by the terms of human expediency. If they 
can succeed in keeping at least a fair reputation among 
men, or in conforming to the general standard of conduct 
observed in the particular circle of society in which they 



CONDITIONS FOR SALVATION. 113 

move, they seem entirely satisfied; as though there were 
no God in heaven who takes account of their sinful actions, 
thoughts, and desires. Such people must became awak- 
ened now from their sleep of sin, or else ere long the 
thunders of judgment will arouse the stupid soul when 
too late. "AWAKE to righteousness, and sin not" (1 Cor. 
15:34). 

The true preaching of the gospel of Christ is design- 
ed to produce this desired effect. "For the word of 
God is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged 
sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul 
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a dis- 
cerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither 
is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: 
but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of 
him with whom we have to do" (Heb. 4: 12, 13). When 
an individual becomes awakened to the fact that the 
law of Christ is laid upon the soul itself, so that even its 
secret purposes of evil are recorded against him in the 
book of God, and that for all such evil intentions, as 
well as sinful acts committed, he must suffer the pangs 
of torment — the guilt, the remorse, the horrors of hell 
itself — he will then realize what an awful thing sin 
really is in God's sight. 

DESIRE AND DECISION. 

The individual thus aroused as to the condemnation 
resting upon his guilty soul is in a good condition to 
cry, as did the jailer, "What must I do to be saved?" 
(Acts 16:30). He must desire salvation in order to 
obtain it, and he must decide to pay the Bible price, in 



114 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

the way of meeting the required conditions as set forth 
in the Bible. Mere knowledge of the nature and extent 
of sin is not sufficient; there must be in the soul genuine 

GODLY SORROW. 

The sinner must give up the love of sin, despise sin 
because God does, and feel keenly a sense of sorrow for 
all the sins he has committed, "for godly sorrow work- 
eth repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but 
the sorrow of the world worketh death" (2 Cor. 7: 10). 
Here godly sorrow is contrasted with the "sorrow of the 
world." Under certain conditions men guilty of sin feel 
very sorry, but it is when they are caught in their sins 
and are about to suffer the just consequences of their 
wrong-doing. Thus, the robber sentenced to imprison- 
ment may weep, yet if he were free and knew that he 
could commit the same deed again without being found 
out, he would do so. This kind of sorrow does not pro- 
duce heart repentance. But godly sorrow does not pro- 
ceed from human exposure of wrong conduct, but is an 
internal realization of the soul's guilt in the sight of God 
accompanied by a deep sense of regret for the wrongs 
committed. This kind of sorrow worketh 

REPENTANCE. 
The term "repentance" includes also a sense of per- 
sonal guilt, of grief over sin, hatred toward it, and 
a resolute turning from it; hence all the conditions of 
salvation may properly be termed the way of repentance. 
But the most prominent idea is that of the forsaking of 
sin "Repent ye therefore and be converted, that your 
sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3: 19). "Let the wicked 



CONDITIONS FOR SALVATION. 115 

forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts : 
and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy 
upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly par- 
don" (Isa. 55:7). This includes evil habits of every 
description, no matter of how long standing, as the 
drinking of- intoxicants and lustful indulgences of a 
more secret nature. All unnatural, filthy, and evil habits 
must be utterly forsaken; then God will deliver the in- 
dividual from their power. 

People who think that they have received the divine 
favor without the forsaking of their sins, are deceived. 
It does not matter if they have prayed every day and 
asked for forgiveness, they are not saved while continu- 
ing to do the works of sin; and unless they come to the 
point where they actually turn from every wrong, and are 
saved from the past, they will be lost in hell with all of 
the non-professing sinners. Listen to the Word: "If I 
regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" 
(Psa. 66: 18). If we excuse sin in our hearts and lives 
and expect to continue in it, we may pray as long as we 
live, but God will pay no attention to our prayers. In 
Mai. 2:13 we read of some people who were "cover- 
ing the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping, and 
with crying out," and still he would not regard them, 
for their hearts were not right. But the "broken spirit, 
a broken and a contrite heart" — the truly penitent 
heart — God will not despise (Psa. 51; 17). When men 
become so broken in spirit that the hot tears of remorse 
and sorrow flow freely, when they realize their lost and 
undone condition without Christ, then there is hope for 
them in God. Bless his name! 



116 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 



CONFESSION. 

But confession also is required. "He that covereth 
his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and for- 
saketh them shall have mercy" (Prov. 28:13). Many 
people tremble under the Holy Ghost preaching of the 
Word and realize their lost condition in sin, but are un- 
willing to confess their sins as the Bible requires. 

But to whom must confession be made? First, to the 
Lord. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 
to forgive us our sins" (1 John 1:9). Why should con- 
fession be made to him? Does he not know all about us 
before we confess? Yes, he understands us altogether. 
But here is one reason: God has set his own standard 
of right and wrong, thus defining sin; but sinful men 
set their own standards and attempt to justify them- 
selves accordingly. Often we find people who are liv- 
ing in open violation of God's Word on some point, and 
yet they excuse themselves, affirming that their conscience 
does not condemn them, etc. Now, if such people seek 
for salvation from God, while setting their own standard 
as to what constitutes sin, God will never hear them. 
They must acknowledge the standard God has set. For 
example, some people possess a violent temper and fre- 
quently manifest it in outbursts of anger. Now, if such 
a one excuses these acts as not sinful, he can not obtain 
salvation, for such God has declared to be sinful, and 
he says, "Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger .... 
be put away from you, with all malice" (Eph. 4:31). 
If this person hopes for Bible salvation, he must con- 
fess his sins as sins — on this line as well as on other 
lines. He must come to the divine standard. 



CONDITIONS FOR SALVATION. 117 

In the second place, confession must be made to men 
— when our sins involve them. This requirement is 
like bitter medicine to some who have been doing the 
dark deeds of Satan by wronging their fellow men, and 
who are unwilling to acknowledge these to the proper 
parties. As the object of confession of sins to God is 
that we may be reconciled to him, so also the object of 
confession to people whom we have wronged is that a 
perfect reconciliation may be effected. God requires 
us, as say the Scriptures, "to have always a conscience 
void of offense toward God, and toward men" (Acts 
24:16). 

Such confession is plainly taught by Jesus in the Ser- 
mon on the Mount. "Therefore if thou bring thy gift to 
the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath 
ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, 
and go thy way ; first be reconciled to thy brother, and 
then come and offer thy gift" (Matt. 5 : 23, 24). While this 
language is based on the ceremonies of the law, it con- 
tains, nevertheless, a principle that no change of dispen- 
sations can affect. "The altar" was the place where 
pious Israelites came with their offerings when they 
desired to approach God. Christ taught that when they 
thus approached God they must be reconciled with their 
brethren — with each other, as the whole nation were 
regarded as brethren. 

So also when we come to God for pardon of the sins 
which we have committed against him, in order that we 
may be reconciled to him, we must also confess to our 
fellow men the sins which we have committed against 
them, in order that we may be reconciled to them. "He 
that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso con- 



118 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

fesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." We can 
not cover from the eyes of the Almighty the sins which 
we have committed against him, but we may cover from 
men the sins which we have committed against them; 
but in either case sin must be confessed and forsaken. 
When a certain man who had wronged another saw this 
requirement of the Word, he stubbornly refused to com- 
ply, saying, "I will go to hell first." Such people will 
certainly go to destruction, for they hope in vain for 
salvation from God when they are not willing to do 
straight work with their fellow men. 

RESTITUTION. 

But this is not all. The words of Christ were, "be 
reconciled." Now, reconciliation may in some cases re- 
quire more than a mere confession of wrong-doing. If 
one man has defrauded another out of twenty dollars, 
acknowledgment of the wrong deed may need to be ac- 
companied by the necessary money in order to effect a 
proper reconciliation. This the Word teaches. "If the 
wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, 
walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; 
he shall surely live, he shall not die" (Ezek. 33:15). 
So God requires those who desire life to set right their 
former wrongs, and then to walk before God "without 
committing iniquity" any more. This is not popular 
doctrine, but it is God's word, and must be obeyed. That 
class of people who object to the part of the Bible en- 
joining restitution, generally have some restitution to 
make themselves. 

In some cases, however, such restitution may be alto- 
gether impossible. If a man has wrongly taken so much 



CONDITIONS FOR SALVATION. 119 

that he is unable to restore all, it is reasonable to suppose 
that if he will humbly do all he can God will receive 
him. A text of Scripture, pertaining directly to another 
subject, however, may perhaps cover in principle such 
a case as this: "If there be first a willing mind, it is 
accepted according to that a man hath, and not according 
to that he hath not" (2 Cor. 8: 12). 

Furthermore, many personal wrongs do not rest on 
a financial basis, hence can not be made right by the 
mere giving of money. One person may be the direct 
means of ruining the virtue, the honor, or the character 
of another, and such, in the nature of the case, can never 
be restored. The guilty person can acknowledge his 
wrong and bitterly repent of it, but this is all he can do, 
and if he is ever saved, he must come in on mercy alone. 

"Just as I am, and waiting not 
To rid my soul of one dark blot; 
To thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot, 
O Lamb of God ! I come, I come ! ' ' 

FORGIVENESS. 
Sometimes the matter is reversed; instead of the 
seeker's having wrongs to set right, others have wronged 
him, and he has treasured up in his heart feelings of 
bitterness and enmity toward the offenders. Unless 
such feelings are given up, they will forever bar the 
soul from reconciliation with God; for he absolutely 
refuses to deal with us until our relations with our fel- 
low men are of the kind set forth in the Scriptures. Hear 
the words of Christ: "If ye forgive not men their tres- 
passes, neither will your Father forgive your trespas- 
ses"; but "if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heav- 



120 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

enly Father will also forgive you" (Matt. 6:15, 14). 
Jesus set an example of the proper attitude toward 
enemies. When dying on Calvary's cross, he did not 
call down upon his persecutors the fiercest maledictions 
of heaven, but tenderly prayed, "Father, forgive them, 
for they know not what they do." The salvation of 
Jesus Christ leaves no place in the human heart for that 
which is sinful ; therefore every bad act must be forsaken, 
as well as every evil affection — bitterness, hardness, 
hatred, and enmity. 

Meeting the foregoing conditions will not of itself 
save men, but it prepares the way so that when humble 
hearts are willing to measure up to the standard, the 
sweet peace and joy of heaven can come into the soul. 

PRAYER. 

The way is now open for the seeker to find access to 
God, by asking for the pardon that the soul craves. The 
Lord has instructed him to ask. "Ask, and it shall be 
given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be 
opened unto you" (Matt. 7:7). "The same Lord over 
all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever 
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" 
(Rom. 10: 12). 

FAITH. 

Our prayers for salvation must be accompanied by 
definite faith. "Repentance toward God, and faith toward 
our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20: 21), is the gospel 
direction for obtaining this desired blessing. When the 
penitent jailer cried out, "What must I do to be saved?" 
the answer was quickly given, "Believe on the Lord 



CONDITIONS FOR SALVATION. 121 

Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16: 80, 
31). But if the heart is rebellious and unwilling to 
measure to the requirements laid down in the Word, 
saving faith will be impossible. We read of one class of 
people who repented not, that they might believe (Matt. 
21: 32). But obedience to the Word places us on be- 
lieving-grounds, where prayer and faith become per- 
fectly natural. Then "if thou shalt confess with thy 
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart 
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be 
saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteous- 
ness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salva- 
tion" (Rom. 10:9, 10). 



CHAPTER VII. 

SALVATION. 

Salvation is the grandest theme of gospel story, which 
is the most important message ever delivered to man. 
Centuries before the advent of the Messiah, the prophet 
Isaiah predicted his coming and said, "He will come and 
save you" (Isa. 35:4). The angel of God, announcing 
his birth, said to Joseph concerning Mary, "She shall 
bring borth a Son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS : 
for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1: 
21). This was his special mission to earth. He himself 
declared, "The son of man is come to seek and to save 
that which was lost" (Luke 19: 10). The apostle Paul 
affirms that "Christ Jesus came into the world to save 
sinners" (1 Tim. 1: 15). Peter declares that God hath 
exalted Christ "to be a Prince and a Savior" (Acts 5: 
31) ; while according to Hebrews he is still "able also to 
save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, see- 
ing he ever liveth to make intercession for them" (Heb. 
7:25). Therefore salvation must be 

A PRESENT POSSIBILITY. 
In Heb. 2 : 3 we read, "How shall we escape if we 
neglect so great salvation ?" The fact that men can neg- 
lect the great salvation of Jesus Christ proves that it is 
obtainable; and if it is obtainable, then it is a present 
possibility. The New Testament throughout speaks of 
salvation as obtainable by men in their present state on 
the earth. When the Philippian jailer asked, "What 
must I do to be saved?" the answer was quickly given, 



124 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
saved" (Acts 16:30, 31). And Paul says, "I am not 
ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of 
God unto salvation, to every one that believeth" (Rom. 
1:16). And again, "If thou shalt confess with thy 
mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart 
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be 
saved" (Rom. 10:9). To the Corinthians he declared 
that it had "pleased God by the foolishness of preach- 
ing to save them that believe" (1 Cor. 1:21). And in 
language still more emphatic he declares, "Behold, now 
is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" 
(2 Cor. 6:2). 

The text last quoted shows that this "great salvation" 
belongs in some special manner to the present dispensa- 
tion of divine grace. Many people are being deceived 
by Satan into believing the fatal lie that in some way 
or other they can obtain salvation in a future age. 
"Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the 
day of salvation." May God help every honest soul to 
see that salvation must be obtained now or never. 

SOME HAVE OBTAINED IT. 
One of the best proofs that salvation is a present 
possibility is the fact that some have already obtained 
it. In 2 Tim. 1 : 9 the apostle Paul affirms that God 
"hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling." 
Peter writes to certain brethren to this effect: Ye have 
received "the end of your faith, even the salvation of 
your souls" (1 Pet. 1:9). Paul refers to the work 
Christ wrought in human hearts, saying, "According to 
his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, 



SALVATION. 125 

and renewing of the Holy Ghost" (Tit. 3:5). "By 
grace ye are saved" (Eph. 2:5, 8). "For the preaching 
of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto 
us which are saved it is the power of God" (1 Cor. 1 : 18). 



WHAT SALVATION MEANS. 

But what does this term "salvation" signify? Its 
literal meaning is deliverance; hence in its spiritual 
usage it signifies deliverance from sin. Let the Word of 
God define its meaning: "Thou shalt call his name Jesus; 
for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1 : 
21). "Ye know that he was manifested to take away our 
sins" (1 John 3:5). "For this purpose the Son of God 
was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the 
devil" (verse 8). He "gave himself for our sins, that 
he might deliver us from this present evil world" (Gal. 
1:4). 

The Word of God is so very plain that we marvel that 
so many people misunderstand its teaching on this point. 
It is the happy privilege of every guilty soul to receive, 
at this very hour, a free and perfect deliverance from 
all sin. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just 
to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all un- 
righteousness" (1 John 1:9, 7). Yea, he hath "loved 
us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Rev. 
1:5). 

Now, while all Christians believe that the blood of 
Christ was shed for sin, still in many cases this provision 
for sin is not connected vitally with the individual be- 
liever, thus making the work of actual deliverance from 
all sin a present accomplished fact. If the actual re- 



126 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

suits of salvation are not accomplished in the heart and 
life, then it is because the person is not yet saved. Many 
people who are still continuing to do the works of sin 
claim to be Christians, declaring that they are "saved 
by faith" or are "sinners saved by grace." Now, how 
can a person be saved by faith or by grace while at the 
same time he is not saved at all? Salvation is received 
by faith, but a definite result is obtained, for we "re- 
ceive the end of our faith, even THE SALVATION OF 
OUR SOULS" (1 Pet. 1:9). Of what use is a mere 
profession of religion unless one has a real experience in 
the soul ? But when the person really has salvation, then 
testifies boldly to the fact, it has the desired effect; as 
Paul says, "That the communication of thy faith may 
become effectual, by the acknowledging of every good 
thing which is in you in Christ Jesus" (Phile. 6). 

Notice how the apostle Paul also connects salvation 
with its results in the individual heart and life: "For the 
grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to 
all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and 
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and 
gpdly, in this present world; looking for that blessed 
hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God, and 
of our Savior Jesus Christ ; who gave himself for us, 
that he might REDEEM us from all iniquity, and purify 
unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" 
(Tit. 2:11-14). 

JUSTIFICATION. 

In the Scriptures salvation is described by different 
terms, as justification, conversion, new birth, etc., each 
of which conveys a certain special idea relative to the 



SALVATION. 137 

subject. The reader must understand, however, that all 
these terms used in the remainder of this chapter relate 
to but one work, the first work of grace. We are not 
justified at one time, converted at another time, receive 
the new birth at another time, etc. ; but these terms only 
express different aspects of the same work. 

We will consider justification first. This is the legal 
aspect. To justify signifies to absolve from guilt. We 
have already discussed the matter of man's responsibility 
to infinite law, and shown that, having transgressed, man 
possesses no power to free himself from the law's just 
claims. But Christ gave himself as a ransom for sinners, 
paying a sufficient satisfaction to God's justice, by which 
means our sins, when confessed in the Bible way, are 
laid upon him (Christ), while his righteousness becomes 
ours; so that we stand in the same relation to God as 
though we had never sinned. This is justification. It 
is expressed by Paul in these words: "All have sinned, 
and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely 
by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ 
Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation 
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness 
for the remission of sins that are past, through the for- 
bearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his 
righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of 
him which believeth in Jesus .... Therefore we conclude 
that a man is justified by faith" (Rom. 3 : 23-28). 

God "made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that 
we might be made the righteousness of God in him" 
(2 Cor. 5:21). "For if by one man's offense death 
reigned by one ; much more they which receive abundance 
of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in 



128 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

life by one Jesus Christ. Therefore as by the offense of 
one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even 
so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all 
men unto justification of life. For as by one man's disobe- 
dience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of 
one shall many be made righteous" (Rom. 5: 17-19). 

When we meet the conditions of God's Word and by 
faith accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, this 
legal transfer (if we may so express it) is made, and 
we are now regarded as being in a state of perfect con- 
formity to God's moral law. "Therefore being justified 
by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus 
Christ" (Rom. 5:1). 

A false and deceptive doctrine, almost universally 
prevalent in Christendom, is to the effect that Christians 
can continue in sin and disobedience every day, and still 
be righteous, it being believed that the righteousness and 
obedience of Christ is imputed to them, simply because 
they recognize him as the world's Savior. But we must 
bear in mind that the righteousness of God which Paul 
says is imputed to us covers only the ground of our "sins 
that are past," those committed before we found Christ. 
From the moment of our justification we must ourselves 
live "in holiness and righteousness before him all the 
days of our life" (Luke 1:75). Paul anticipated and 
repudiated this false conclusion regarding the imputing 
of Christ's righteousness to Christians, saying, "Shall 
we continue in sin, that grace may abound?" The very 
idea was repulsive to his mind, and he answered, "God 
forbid. How shall we that are dead to sin, live any 
longer therein?" (Rom. 6: 1, 2). 



SALVATION. 129 

CONVERSION. 

While justification signifies primarily a judicial ac- 
quittal, the opposite of condemnation, the primary mean- 
ing of Bible conversion is a change wrought in the indi- 
vidual himself, thus conveying guite a different idea ; both, 
however, relate, with equal importance, to different as- 
pects of the same salvation. 

So far as the term itself is concerned it signifies 
merely "a change from one state to another"; hence it 
is often used for a mere external or outward reforma- 
tion, or it is sometimes used to signify a change of beliefs 
or doctrinal convictions. But Bible, or saving, con- 
version is more than this, for it signifies a real change of 
heart and life. "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, 
that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of re- 
freshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" (Acts 
3: 19). "Hide thy face from my sins and blot out all 
mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and 
renew a right spirit within me. Then will I teach trans- 
gressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto 
thee" (Psa. 51:9, 10, 13). This experience is made 
necessary by the fact of sin, and Jesus himself has said, 
"Except ye be converted, and become as little children, 
ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 
18:3). 

THE NEW BIRTH. 

The experience of salvation received through Christ is 
also represented as a birth of the Spirit. Jesus himself 
introduced this doctrine. "He came unto his own, and 
his own received him not. But as many as received him, 
to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even 



130 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES, 

to them which believe on his name: which were born, not 
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of 
man, but of God*' (John 1 : 11-13). According to this text, 
all who during the incarnation received Christ and be- 
lieved on his name were born of God. 

So too, when Nicodemus came by night to interview 
the Savior, acknowledging him as a teacher come from 
God, "Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily 
I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he can not 
see the kingdom of God" (John 3: 1-7). Nicodemus un- 
derstood about natural birth, but could not comprehend 
this idea of a second birth that even an old man might 
obtain. So Jesus explained: "That which is born of the 
flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is 
spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be 
born again." 

This doctrine of the new birth is fundamental; for 
without being born again no man can truly be called a 
Christian; for a Christian is one who is Christlike, and 
sinners must be transformed from sin to grace before 
they can be Christlike, and this change is effected by the 
Spirit in what is here termed the new birth. 

The prominent idea connected with birth is a bringing 
into life. Now, sinful man is in the Scriptures repre- 
sented as being in a state of spiritual death. To know 
God, and to be associated with him in holiness and fel- 
lowship, is life eternal, and is the normal sphere of the 
soul's happiness (John 17:3). On the other hand, to be 
cut off by sin and separated from that vital union with 
our Maker is spiritual death. "I was alive without the 
law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, 



SALVATION. 181 

and I died" (Rom. 7:9). In Isa. 59:1, 2 we read of 
how sin separates men from God. In 1 Tim. 5 : 6 Paul 
says, "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she 
liveth." "And you, being dead in your sins." (Col. 2: 
13). "And you hath he quickened who were dead in 
trespasses and sins: wherein in time past ye walked ac- 
cording to the course of this world" (Eph. 2: 1, 2). How 
strange to think of dead men walking! Yet we are sur- 
rounded by millions of living, intelligent beings who are 
nevertheless "dead in trespasses and sins." These are 
the ones who "must be born again." But Jesus has 
come "that they might have life, and that they might 
nave it more abundantly" (John 10: 10). In John 1 : 12, 
IS, already quoted, we read that those who believed on 
Jesus' name were born of God ; and in John 5 : 24 he 
says, "He that heareth my word, and believeth on him 
that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come 
into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." 
The Beloved Apostle states very clearly "that God hath 
given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He 
that hath the Son hath life ; and he that hath not the Son 
of God hath not life" (1 John 5: 11, 12). 

Notwithstanding all these plain texts, and many others 
bearing on this subject, certain religious teachers affirm 
that the new birth is not an experience to be obtained 
now ; that we are only begotten in this world, but shall be 
born in the next; that everlasting life is not obtainable in 
the present dispensation, etc. "What shall we then say 
to these things?" We will read the divine Word and 
let it decide, then "let God be true, but every man a 
liar" (Rom. 3:4). 



132 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born 
of God" (1 John 5:1). "Behold what manner of love 
the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be 

called the sons of God Beloved, NOW are we the 

sons of God" (1 John 3: 1, 2). "Because he is born of 
God" (1 John 3:9). "Being born again .... by the 
word of God" (1 Pet. 1:23). "Every one that doeth 
righteousness is born of him" (1 John 2:29). "Which 
were born .... of God" (John 1 : 12, 13). "Because ye 
are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into 
your hearts" (Gal. 4:6). "As new-born babes, desire 
the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby" 
(1 Pet. 2:2). "The Spirit itself beareth witness with 
our spirit, that we are the children of God" (Rom. 8: 
16). "Every one that loveth is born of God, and know- 
eth God" (1 John 4:7). And since we are already born 
of God, and are now his sons, his believing children, "we 
know that we have passed from death unto life" (1 John 
3: 14). "God hath given to us eternal life, and this 
life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life" 
(1 John 5:11, 12). 

We must not overlook the miraculous feature of this 
new birth, this bringing into life. In the natural world, 
life proceeds only from life. Things inanimate can 
never endow themselves with natural life. So it is also 
in the spiritual realm. Man, who is "dead in trespasses 
and in sins," can never endow himself with spiritual 
life. He may possibly reform himself in certain particu- 
lars and perform many good works; but after he has 
reached the end of all self-effort, he will simply be a 
good moral man, and not what the Scriptures describe as 



SALVATION. 133 

a Christian, for a Christian is a good man plus something 
else. The additional something is life from God, which 
is infused by the divine Spirit into our hearts. "He that 
hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of 
God hath not life"; for "this life is in his Son" (1 John 
5:12, 11). 

Millions of people call themselves Christians and think 
themselves on the road to heaven, when they are not, but 
are deceived; for they have never been born again, and 
Jesus himself declares, "Except a man be born again, he 
can not see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). How im- 
portant, then, that experimental salvation be held before 
all men, so that they may know how to meet Bible con- 
ditions and receive a real conversion, this birth of the 
Spirit, which endows the individual with everlasting life, 
happiness, and joy! What a shame — what a lasting 
disgrace to the fair name of Christianity — that multi- 
tudes of sin-loving people should claim to be Christians 
simply because they have joined some human church, or 
because they were in infancy subjected to a ceremonial 
rite called baptism! Yet this is a sad fact. May God 
help to undeceive these blinded multitudes, who are rush- 
ing onward to an everlasting hell! Dear reader, if you 
are one of this number, I pray God to awaken you before 
it is too late ; to write upon your soul as it were in letters 
of fire these words of our Lord, "Ye must be born agan" 

KNOWLEDGE OF SALVATION. 

This experience of salvation taught in the New Testa- 
ment is not an imaginary something, but is a blessed 
reality. When presenting this subject the apostles al- 



134 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ways spoke with certainty. John affirmed: "We know 
that we have passed from death unto life" (1 John 8: 
14). "We know that we are of God" (chap. 5:19). 
"We are of God .... Every one that loveth is born of 
God, and knoweth God" (1 John 4:6, 7). Salvation is 
of such a positive nature that we can not avoid knowing 
when we receive it; nevertheless we will notice briefly 
some of the means by which we are assured of the fact. 

Negatively, we are made conscious of this great change 
by the fact that all our sins are removed. We read that 
Jesus came "to give knowledge of salvation unto his 
people by the remission of their sins" (Luke 1:77). 
When the seeker is made deeply conscious of his sins, 
and comes to Jesus heavily burdened with the load of 
his guilt, confesses and forsakes them according to the 
requirements of the Word, and the good Lord graciously 
sweeps them all away by the power of his grace; and 
the sweet peace of heaven flows into the regenerated 
heart, — no one is needed to inform him that he is saved, 
for he is the first one to realize it. The experience of 
freedom from sin and its guilt is now as real as was the 
fact of sin before. But this is not all. New feelings, 
new hopes, and new aspirations spring up in the soul, so 
that he is made to realize the truth of the scripture that 
says, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new 
creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things 
are become new. And all things are of God" (2 Cor. 
5:17, 18). 

How well does the writer remember the night when he 
was "born again" and became a "new creature" in Christ 
Jesus! Though I should live to be as old as Methusa- 



SALVATION. 135 

leh, I could never forget it. With heart broken in Bible 
conviction, my sins looming up before me like mountains, 
and their guilt resting heavily upon my trembling soul, 
I knelt before my Lord and sought for mercy; his dying 
love captured my affections; my faith reached out and 
grasped the promises of life and salvation, and the bur- 
den of sin rolled away, while the sweet peace of God 
filled and thrilled my entire being. Halleluiah! The 
next morning nature itself seemed to assume a new as- 
pect. Never before had the sun appeared to shine so 
brightly; the carpet of green spread over the earth had 
never appeared so lovely; the flowers were more beauti- 
ful than ever; and even the song of the little birds, 
wafted from the swaying tree-tops, possessed a melody 
almost divine. All nature seemed aglow with celestial 
beauty and glory on that bright morning. Upon a little 
reflection, however, I knew that nature was in reality 
just the same as before and that the change was in me. 
"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." 

Another clear evidence of our salvation is the radical 
change that is wrought in our affections. First, toward 
God. While living a sinful life, men do not really love 
God from the heart, for they are living in a state of 
indifference toward the claims of God upon them. Some 
descend so deeply into sin that they even become "haters 
of God" (Rom. 1:80). But when our souls become 
awakened to the reality of the great love which God has 
shown to us, the manifestation of divine affection in the 
death of our Lord for us wins back our wandering 
affections, and we are ready to exclaim with the apostle, 
"We love him, because he first loved us" (1 John 4: 19). 



136 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Then how natural it is to obey God ! "If a man love me/' 
says Jesus, "he will keep my words" (John 14: 23). 

Second, we experience a real change in our affections 
with reference to those who have been our enemies. In- 
stead of the hatred and the bitterness that we felt for 
them, we now experience a sense of love reaching out 
toward them; yea, the very words of Christ concerning 
this subject are fulfilled in us: "Love your enemies, bless 
them that curse you, do good unto them that hate you, 
and pray for them which despitefully use you and per- 
secute you: that ye may be the children of your Father 
which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:44, 45). 

Third, our feelings toward God's people are also 
changed, and "we know that we have passed from death 
unto life, because we love the brethren" (1 John 3:14). 
And "by this we know that we love the children of God, 
when we love God, and keep his commandments" (1 John 
5:2). "My little children, let us not love in word, 
neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And hereby 
we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our 
hearts before him" (1 John 3: 18, 19). So great is our 
holy love toward all the children of God that Christ has 
said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disci- 
ples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13: 35). 

But the best and clearest evidence of our acceptance 
with God is the internal witness of his Spirit. Salvation 
is received by faith. Paul said to the jailer, "Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." And 
the apostle John says, "He that believeth on the Son 
of God hath the witness in himself" (1 John 5:10). 
There is no such thing as exercising saving faith in 



SALVATION. 187 

Christ without experiencing within the assurance of the 
Holy Spirit that we are now saved. This witnessing can 
not be well explained in words, but, thank God! it can 
be experienced. 

One man among the writer's acquaintances affirmed 
that he was converted two years before he found it out. 
A conversion, however, that one might not become cog- 
nizant of for two years could not be worth much. But 
it is very evident from the teaching of the Word of God 
that this man did not receive Bible conversion; for the 
true believer in Christ "hath the witness in himself." 

Another man dreamed that he was saved and preach- 
ing the gospel, and when he awoke in the morning, he 
felt so happy that he concluded he was saved, announced 
a meeting for that night, and attempted to preach to the 
people. Bible salvation, however, is not obtained un- 
consciously or through dreams, but is received by intelli- 
gent faith. The recipient must be awake and earnestly 
seeking God according to his Word. When these con- 
ditions are met, the believing soul will experience a real 
change of heart and the direct evidence of the Spirit that 
he is saved. "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our 
spirit, that we are the children of God" (Rom. 8:16). 
The time and the manner of this change will ever after- 
wards stand out clear in the memory of the redeemed 
child of God. 

Reader, do you remember a time in your life when sin 
was instantly canceled and the grace of God came into 
your soul? If not, then let me inform you that you 
have never been born again; hence you are not a true 
Christian. You may be a good moral person, humanly 



138 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

speakings bearing an excellent reputation among men 
and professing to be a Christian, but you are not a Chris- 
tian when measured in the light of God's Word. "Ex- 
cept a man be born again, he can not see the kingdom of 
God." 



CHAPTER VIII. 

A HOLY LIFE. 

In the preceding chapter we showed what constitutes 
real Bible conversion, what it means to be born of God. 
In this chapter we desire to show what the Bible teaches 
concerning the life of those who have been born of God. 
The New Testament standard for God's people is one of 
sinlessness. "We know that whosoever is born of God 
sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth him- 
self, and that wicked one toucheth him not" (1 John 5: 
18). 

WHAT IS SIN? 

The same writer defines sin in these words: "Whoso- 
ever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin 
is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4). As we 
can more appropriately treat the subject of God's law 
in a subsequent chapter, it will not be necessary to enter 
into it in this place. Suffice it to say that the law by 
which our conduct will be judged, the transgression of 
which constitutes sin, is "the law of Christ" (Gal. 6:2). 
Jesus himself has said, "He that rejecteth me, and re- 
ceiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the 
word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the 
last day" (John 12:48). 

Since we shall be judged in the last day by the law 
of Christ, it is evident that it is the law of Christ that 
we are now held responsible to obey. But God is just; 
therefore our responsibility is limited to our degree of 
enlightenment, there being in the New Testament no 



140 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

such thing as sin in total ignorance of God's require- 
ments. "If ye were blind [spiritually] ye should have 
no sin" (John 9:41). "If I had not come and spoken 
unto them, they had not had sin" (John 15:22). "Sin 
is not imputed when there is no law" (Rom. 5: 13). "For 
where no law is, there is no transgression" (Rom. 4: 15). 
There must be some knowledge of our obligations, so 
that the will is involved, otherwise we are not reckoned 
transgressors. "Therefore to him that knorveth to do 
good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (Jas. 4: 17). So 
also, on this principle, To him that knoweth that he 
should not do evil, and then doeth it, to him it is sin. 

ALL MEN BY NATURE SINNERS. 

It is a fact that in all places and in all ages of the 
world men have acknowledged that they were under sin; 
for all realize that their wills have been involved in acts 
which they recognize to be in their very nature wrong. 
Therefore the Bible recognizes this universality of sin, 
saying: "There is no man that sinneth not" (1 Kings 8: 
46). "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory 
of God" (Rom. 3:23). "The Scripture hath concluded 
all under sin" (Gal. 3: 22). 

But while the Old Testament recognizes the universal 
prevalence of sin, it also contains predictions of a divine 
provision for its removal. Isaiah, speaking of Christ, 
said, "He will come and save you" (Isa. 35:4). And 
Zechariah says, "In that day there shall be a fountain 
opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of 
Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness" (Zech. 13:1). 



A HOLY LIFE. 141 

Here we find special provisions for sin. Daniel pre- 
dicted the coming of the Messiah, saying, "Seventy 
weeks are determined upon thy people and upon thy holy 
city, to finish the transgression, and to make an end of 
sins, and to make reconciliation for iniquity, and to 
bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the 
vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy" 
(Dan. 9:24). All these inspired prophecies met their 
fulfilment in that Christ who came to "save his people 
from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). 

CHRISTIANS ARE SAVED FROM SIN. 

"And ye know that he was manifested to take away our 
sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him 
sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither 
known him" (1 John 3:5, 6). This is the uniform gos- 
pel standard, as we shall see. 

1. Christ taught it. "Verily, verily I say unto you, 
Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin .... If 
the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free 
indeed" (John 8:34-36). Here is promised a perfect 
freedom from the bondage of sin. 

In the fifth chapter of John we read of a certain impo- 
tent man lying at the pool of Bethesda, whose infirmity 
was of thirty-eight years' duration. Jesus came along 
and healed him. "Afterward Jesus findeth him in the 
temple, and said unto him, Behold, thou art made whole: 
SIN NO MORE, lest a worse thing come unto thee" 
(verse 14). Now, it is preposterous to suppose that 
Christ was unjust, giving a commandment that could 



142 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

not be obeyed — a commandment whose violation was to 
bring upon the poor man a sorer punishment than he had 
endured during those thirty-eight long years. It could 
be obeyed. This man received power from the Lord to 
go and live without sin. 

Again, in John 8:8-11 we read of a certain woman 
who was brought to Christ accused of great sin. After 
a short conversation, during which time the scribes and 
Pharisees, becoming condemned by their consciences be- 
cause of their own sins, went away, Jesus turned to the 
woman and said, "Where are those thine accusers? hath 
no man condemned thee [legally] ? She said, No man, 
Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn 
thee: GO AND SIN NO MORE." 

2. Peter taught it. "Repent ye therefore, and be con- 
verted, that your sins may be blotted out; when the times 
of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord" 
(Acts 3: 19). "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an 
example, that ye should follow his steps : who did no sin, 
neither was guile found in his mouth" (1 Pet. 2: 21, 22). 

3. Paul taught it. "Awake to righteousness, and sin 
not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak 
this to your shame" (1 Cor. 15:34, 35). Almost the 
whole of the sixth chapter of Romans is devoted to the 
subject of the Christians' deliverance from sin. I will 
notice just a few verses wherein it is stated. 

"What shall we say then? shall we continue in sin, 
that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we 
that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?" (verses 
1, 2). "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead 
indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ 



A HOLY LIFE. 143 

our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal 
bodies, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof" (verses 
11, 12). "Sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye 
are not under the law, but under grace" (verse 14). "Ye 
were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the 
heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. 
Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants 
of righteousness" (verses 17, 18). "But now being made 
free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your 
fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life" (verse 
22). 

Some people attempt to prove that Paul himself was 
a sinner and a defender of sin; but this chapter alone is 
sufficient to forever settle his attitude as a Christian 
toward the subject of sin. This point we will refer to 
again in the present chapter. 

4. John taught it. "If we walk in the light as he is 
in the light we have fellowship one with another, and the 
blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 
If we say that we have no sin [to be cleansed from], 
we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive 
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 
(1 John 1:7-9). Here a perfect cleansing from sin is 
taught, upon condition that we do not cover our sins up 
and deny them, but "walk in the light" and "confess our 
sins." And the same writer also shows that we must live 
before Christ in this sinless state, for he says, "He that 
sayeth he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, 
even as he walked" (1 John 2:6). How did Christ walk? 
Peter affirms that he "did no sin, neither was guile found 



144 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

in his mouth" (1 Pet. 2: 22). Hence we must do no sin. 
This is the Christian standard. 

So John writes again, "My little children, these things 
I write unto you, THAT YE SIN NOT" (1 John 2:1). 
In the same verse he goes on to show that "if any man 
sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ 
the righteous." This shows that, even if men should by 
some means depart from the Christian standard by fall- 
ing into sin, it is possible for them to be recovered, be- 
cause Christ would be willing to forgive again. This, 
however, does not in the least weaken the standard here 
set forth that "he that sayeth he abideth in him ought 
himself also so to walk, even as he walked" (verse 6). 
But the apostle goes a step further; he shows not only 
that Christians "ought" to walk this way, but that they 
really do. "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: who- 
soever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him" 
(1 John 3: 6). "We know that whosoever is born of God 
sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth him- 
self, and that wicked one toucheth him not" (1 John 5: 
18). 

"Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth 
righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. Who- 
soever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed 
remaineth in him: and he can not sin, because he is born 
of God" (1 John 3: 7, 9). Reader, mark this fact: John 
does not say that God's people confess their sins every 
day or repent of them frequently, but says that they 
"DO NOT COMMIT SIX." Thousands of professed 
Christians have asked the question, "Who are those 
'just persons which need no repentance/ of which Christ 



A HOLY LIFE. 145 

speaks" (Luke 15: 7) ? The answer is very clear: They 
are the Christians, those who have been born of God; for 
"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin." They 
need not, and hence could not, repent. 

THE LINE OF DISTINCTION. 

Recently the writer held a conversation with two minis- 
ters who were earnestly denying the doctrine of Chris- 
tian freedom from sin, notwithstanding this solid array 
of New Testament texts clearly stating this doctrine in 
so many words. I then asked them to tell me the differ- 
ence between sinners and these so-called "sinning Chris- 
tians." Their reply was that the sinning Christians con- 
fess their sins and ask for forgiveness every day, where- 
as the sinners do not. I replied that, so far as such 
lives were concerned, they looked very much alike to me, 
and that this distinction reminded me of the following 
story, which I recently read, but of the truthfulness of 
which I am unable to vouch: 

An Episcopalian clergyman that was traveling in one 
of the Southern States interviewed a farmer one day con- 
cerning religion. Asked concerning his religion, the 
farmer replied: 

"I am an Episcopalian." 

"By whom were you confirmed ?" asked the clergyman. 

"Confirmed?" said the farmer, "what is that?" 

"How did you become an Episcopalian without learn- 
ing about being confirmed ?" 

"Well, it was this way," the farmer replied: "Last 
summer I was visiting down in New Orleans, and one 
day I went to church; and there I heard the people say- 



146 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ing that they were doing many things that they ought not 
to do, and were leaving undone many things that they 
should do, that they were making many crooked paths 
for their feet; and I said to myself, 'That's just the fix 
I'm in.' When I went out I asked some one, 'What 
church is this?' and he told me that it was the Episco- 
palian; so I have been Episcopal ever since." 

He thought he had found his kind. 

But God draws a distinct line of demarcation between 
sinners and Christians. We have already shown by 
many texts that God's people are saved from their sins, 
and do not commit sin. 

THE CONTRAST. 

Now we will notice what the Bible has to say, by way 
of contrast, concerning the other class. 

JESUS: "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of 
sin" (John 8: 34). 

PAUL: "When ye were the servants of sin, ye were 
free from righteousness" (Rom. 6:20). 

PETER: "Having eyes full of adultery, and that can 
not cease from sin .... to whom the mist of darkness 
is reserved forever" (2 Pet. 2: 14, 17). 

JAMES: "Ye adulterers and adultresses, know ye not 
that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? 
whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the 
enemy of God" (Jas. 4:4). 

JUDE: "Ungodly sinners .... walking after their 
own lusts .... having men's persons in admiration be- 
cause of advantage .... These be they who separate 
themselves [from the truth, and from the doctrine of a 



A HOLY LIFE. 147 

sinless life], sensual, having not the Spirit" (Jude 15- 
19). 

JOHN : "We know that we are of God, and the whole 
world lieth in wickedness" (1 John 5: 19). "Whosoever 
sinneth hath not seen him [Christ] neither known him" 
(1 John 3:6). Mark this contrast: "He that com- 
mitteth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth 
from the beginning .... Whosoever is born of 

God doth not commit sin IN THIS the 

children of God are manifest, and the children of the 
devil; whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God" 
(1 John 3:8-10), and "he that doeth righteousness is 
righteous, even as he [Christ] is righteous" (verse 7)- 
The line of distinction which God has made is drawn be- 
tween those who commit sin, and those who do not com- 
mit sin. Those who do not sin are born of God, and 
know God, and have his righteousness; while, on the 
other hand, those who commit sin are the servants of 
sin, and are doing the devil's work, hence belong to him 
— are "of the devil" — and are not the children of God 
at all. I pray God to grant that souls may "awake to 
righteousness, and sin not." 

11 Heaven is a holy place, 
Pilled with glory and with grace; 

Sin can never enter there. 
All within its gates are pure, 
From defilement kept secure; 

Sin can never enter there. 

"If you cling to sin till death, 
When you draw your latest breath, 

You will sink in dark despair 
To the regions of the lost, 
Thus to prove at awful cost 

Sin can never enter there. 



148 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 



"Sin can never enter there, 
Sin can never enter there; 
So if at the judgment-bar 
Sinful spots your soul shall mar, 
YOU can never enter there." 



SOME OBJECTIONS ANSWEBED. 

When the doctrine of salvation from sin and a holy, 
sinless life is presented, people frequently come forward 
with certain objections to this standard. Now, so far 
as these objections are sincere, based upon certain Scrip- 
ture texts, they are worthy of consideration and expla- 
nation; for when rightly interpreted, they harmonize 
beautifully with the general plan of redemption. There 
is no contradiction on this subject in God's Word when 
understood in relation to his progressive plan of salva- 
tion. 

Objection 1. "There is no man that sinneth not" (1 
Kings 8: 46). "For there is not a just man upon earth, 
that doeth good, and sinneth not" (Eccl. 7: 20). 

Answer. These words were uttered by King Solomon, 
who lived about one thousand years before Christ, in 
the dispensation when it was "not possible that the blood 
of bulls and of goats should take away sins" (Heb. 10: 
4). Many men of that dispensation possessed great 
faith in God and, considering the general standards of 
those times, lived very good lives; hence they were ac- 
cepted by God on the ground of their faith, when they 
conformed to the highest standard of his revealed will. 

But the experience of the new birth, the regeneration 
of the soul which makes men "new creatures," was not 
realized in those days; hence people then did not claim 



A HOLY LIFE. 149 

to live without committing sin. The plan of salvation 
from all sin through Christ was from the foundation of 
the world a "mystery" which was "hid in God" (Eph. 
3:9), a mystery which even "the angels desired to look 
into" (1 Pet. 1 : 12), but which in the gospel dispensation 
"is made manifest to his saints" (Col. 1:26). Jesus 
said to his disciples, "Many prophets and righteous men 
[of the old dispensation] have desired to see those things 
which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those 
things which ye hear, and have not heard them. Blessed 
are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear" 
(Matt. 13:17, 16). 

These prophets, however, caught a glimpse of this com- 
ing redemption, and wrote of it, though they did not 
themselves experience it. This is clearly stated by Peter, 
who wrote concerning brethren in the new dispensation: 
"Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of 
your souls. Of which salvation the prophets have in- 
quired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the 
grace that should come unto you: searching what or 
what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in 
them did signify, when it testified beforehand the suf- 
ferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow. Unto 
whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves but unto 
us they did minister the things, which are now reported 
unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you 
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven" (1 Pet. 1 : 
9-12). This makes it clear that the experience of salva- 
tion which we now receive through Christ was not ex- 
perienced before his coming, even by the prophets who 
wrote of it. 



150 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Those who deny the sinless life are sure to quote 
Eccl. 7: 20, which says that "there is not a just man upon 
earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not." But why do 
they not quote 1 John 3 : 9, which says that "whosoever 
is born of God doth not commit sin"? Do these texts 
appear contradictory? So they are in statement, but 
they are not contradictory in the plan of God, for Solo- 
mon wrote under the old dispensation, while John wrote 
under the new. The true basis of harmony is found in 
the fact that "the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleans- 
eth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). 

Objection 2. Paul's experience in Romans 7, where he 
says: "I know that in me dwelleth no good thing: for 
to will is present with me ; but how to perform that which 
is good I find not. For the good that I would I do not: 
but the evil which I would not, that I do. Now if I do 
that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that 
dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would do 
good, evil is present with me. Oh, wretched man that 
I am!" etc. 

Answer. A study of the entire chapter shows clearly 
that the apostle was describing his experience under the 
law of Moses, before he found Christ. He first speaks 
of his infantile state, when he was "alive without the 
law" — did not even know that the law said, "Thou shalt 
not covet." Afterward "when the commandment came" 
to him, he says, "sin revived, and I died." (see verses 
7-13.) This law under which he was brought up was 
good in that it defined sin and revealed his condition 
as an actual sinner, but it did not bring to him deliver- 
ance and salvation from sin; therefore he cried out, 



A HOLY LIFE. 151 

"Oh, wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from 
the body of this death?" Then he obtained a ray of 
hope and answered the question himself: "I thank God 
through Jesus Christ our Lord" (verses 24, 25). 

This sin-experience was the experience of Saul, the 
man who zealously defended the law and persecuted the 
church of God; but immediately following we have, in 
his own words, the experience of Paul the Christian: 
"There is therefore NOW no condemnation to them 
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, 
but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life 
in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin 
and death. For what the law [of Moses] could not do, 
in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his 
own Son in the likeness of sinful fiesh, and for sin con- 
demned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the 
law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, 
but after the Spirit" (Rom. 8: 1-4). 

Reader, which do you desire, the experience of Saul, 
or the experience of Paul? After he found deliverance 
from sin through Christ, he taught that Christians are 
to live without sin. "Shall we continue in sin, that 
grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we that are 
dead to sin live any longer therein?" (Rom. 6: 1, 2). "For 
sin shall not have dominion over you: FOR YE ARE 
NOT UNDER THE LAW, BUT UNDER GRACE" 
(verse 14). This last text clears up the entire matter. 
Under the law sin had dominion over the people; under 
grace, God's people have dominion over sin. Under the 
law, it might be said, "There is not a just man upon 
earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not" ; but under grace, 



152 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin." "The 
law was given by Moses; but grace and truth came by 
Jesus Christ" (John 1:17). Yea, "the grace of God 
that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teach- 
ing us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we 
should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this pres- 
ent world." Why? Because Christ "gave himself for 
us, that he might redeem us from ALL iniquity, and 
purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good 
works" (Tit. 2:11-14). 

That the sin-experience described in Romans 7 was 
not the experience of Paul the Christian at the time 
when he was writing this chapter, is shown also by 
other facts. This Epistle was written about the year 
A. D. 60. Six years before this time, or in A. D. 54, 
he was living a much better life than that; for he de- 
clared to the Thessalonian brethren, "Ye are witnesses, 
and God also, how holily, and justly, and unblameably 
we behaved ourselves among you that believe" (1 Thess. 
2: 10). Was he a backslider at the time when he wrote 
the Roman Epistle? No; for about that same year, A. D. 
60, he testified before a council, "I have lived in all 
good conscience before God until this day" (Acts 23: 1). 
And a few days later he said, "Herein do I exercise 
myself, to have always a conscience void of offense toward 
God, and toward men" (Acts 24: 16). Neither did he 
dishonor God and his cause by departing into sin after 
this time, for in his dying testimony, given about six 
years later, he said: "The time of my departure is at 
hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my 
course, / have kept the faith" (2 Tim. 4:7). 



A HOLY LIFE. 158 

Objections based on certain other texts of Scripture 
(for example, Romans 3: 10) are of this same general 
character; for almost without exception they relate to 
Old Testament conditions, not to the New Testament 
standard of salvation. 

The doctrine of sinning Christians originates either 
in a perverse state of the soul or else in a total failure to 
understand dispensational truth; for this last-named 
fact disposes of all the objections to holiness. A proper 
understanding of the difference between the old cove- 
nant and the new will forever settle the subject concern- 
ing the present relation of God's people with sin. 

FREEDOM FROM WOREDHNESS. 

This is simply another division of the subject of sin, 
for wordliness is sin. However, there are some special 
thoughts that I wish to present under this heading. 

Since sin in its various forms has become universal, 
surrounding us on all sides, as real as nature itself, the 
Bible writers often refer to it as "the world." This in- 
cludes not only the grosser forms of sin, but all manner 
of disobedience to God of whatsoever nature or extent. 
God's people must be free from all these things. Paul 
says to the brethren who had been quickened in Christ, 
"In time past ye walked according to the course of this 
world" (Eph. 2:2). But Christ "gave himself for our 
sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil 
world" (Gal. 1:4). 

That our separation from the world in this sense is 
to be real, is shown by the words of Christ, "If ye were 
of the world, the world would love his own: but because 



154 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of 
the world, therefore the world hateth you" (John 15: 
19). Reader, bear in mind that if you take your stand 
for God and for the whole truth of his Word, determined 
to be free from all worldliness, there will be a real sepa- 
ration in spirit and in life between you and the worldly- 
minded. You will even have opposition. "Yea, and all 
that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer perse- 
cution" (2 Tim. 3: 12). 

This experience was truly realized by the first dis- 
ciples, for we have the testimony of Jesus himself that 
they were free from the world. He said of them in 
prayer to the Father: "I have given them thy Word; 
and the world hath hated them, because they are not of 
the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not 
that thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that 
thou shouldst keep them from the evil. They are not of the 
world even as I am not of the world" (John 17: 14-16). 

To us this means that everything which partakes of 
the spirit and nature of the world must be forsaken — 
worldly sentiments, worldly associations, worldly ambi- 
tions, worldly amusements, and worldly dress — every- 
thing that is not in strict harmony with the plain teach- 
ing of God's Word. "Love not the world, neither the 
things that are in the world. If any man love the world, 
the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is 
in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the 
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is 
of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust 
thereof; but he that doeth the will of God abideth for- 
ever" (1 John 2: 15-17). 



A HOLY LIFE. 155 



WORLDLY AMUSEMENTS. 

According to the principles of truth already laid down, 
it is evident that the holy people of God can not go to 
and participate in those amusements whose direct object 
is to cater to the spirit of foolishness, vanity, and sin. 
At the present day Satan is seeking by this means to 
draw the hearts of the people everywhere into the deeper 
ways of sin, thus causing them to forget God. Especially 
is this true respecting the young. How many are the 
forms of worldly amusement that have been devised and 
that serve this purpose! — shows, festivals, races of vari- 
ous kinds, card-parties, prize fights, theaters, etc. These 
things "are not of the Father, but are of the world" ; 
and no true child of God can indulge in such things 
without loss to his spirituality and, if the indulgence is 
continued, the final loss of his soul. "Flee also youth- 
ful lusts: but follow righteousness, faith, charity, peace, 
with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart" 
(2 Tim. 2:22). 

The Christian must live a life of prayer and devotion 
to God. By this means his spirit is refreshed from day 
to day, and he thus obtains conquering grace for trials 
and temptations. But this life of devotion can not 
exist where the spirit of worldliness is allowed sway. 
Those who attend worldly amusements do not feel a 
burden for secret prayer and devotion, and they have 
little or no active interest in the salvation of souls; 
while, on the other hand, those who are spiritual and live 
in prayer before God, have no desire for such amuse- 
ments. They are dead to the world and its pleasures. 



156 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Of them, Jesus can say, "They are not of the world, 
even as I am not of the world." 

WORLDLY DRESS. 

But the Word of God comes even closer and lays down 
certain rules concerning the Christian's dress. The com- 
mand of the Word is, "Glorify God in your body, and 
in your spirit, which are God's" (1 Cor. 6:20). We 
must "be holy both in body and in spirit" (1 Cor. 7: 34). 
If we have holy, humble hearts, hearts free from vanity 
and pride, then our outward lives must in every way be 
consistent with the inward condition. Now, when peo- 
ple's hearts are full of the "pride of life," how do they 
manifest it? By proud actions and by worldly dress. 
They seek to adorn themselves with gold, pearls, dia- 
monds, rubies, and costly array; until the beholder views 
a dazzling display of ear-rings, finger-rings, bracelets, 
lockets, and other ornaments ; not to mention an immense 
amount of other costly, useless, and foolish array. What 
does the Word of God say on this subject? 

"Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning 
of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of put- 
ting on of apparel: but let it be the hidden man of the 
heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the orna- 
ment of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of 
God of great price" (1 Pet. 3:3, 4). Yet how many 
professing Christians totally disregard the plain teach- 
ing of the Word on this point, and dress in all the pride 
and fashion of this world ! 

In the scriptures just given, the apostle Peter forbids 
the wearing of that outward adornment which is sug- 



A HOLY LIFE. 157 

gested by pride; but the apostle Paul goes a step further 
and shows how Christian women must be dressed. He 
says, "In like manner also that women adorn themselves 
in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; 
not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; 
but (which becometh women professing godliness) with 
good works" (1 Tim. 2:9, 10). They must be arrayed 
in "modest apparel .... not with gold, or pearls, or 
costly array." These articles of adornment, then, are 
not modest apparel. The wearing of them is prompted, 
not by feelings of humility and modesty, but by pride 
in the heart. It is plain from this scripture that such 
things do not "become women professing godliness" 
Reader, are you a woman "professing godliness"? Are 
you adorned with these things ? If so, then they do not 
"become your profession," and you are not arrayed in 
"modest apparel." 

"Modest apparel" requires a dress that is clean and 
neat, so as not to become immodest, through the failure 
to measure up to ordinary standards of decency; but, 
on the other hand, it is dress that is free from useless, 
worldly trimmings and accompaniments, from ostenta- 
tion and show. Ear-rings, finger-rings, necklaces, lockets, 
bracelets, feathers, artificial flowers, and many other like 
things, "are not of the Father, but are of the world," 
when it comes to the matter of the Christian's dress. 
"BE NOT CONFORMED TO THIS WORLD," the 
Word of God rings out (Rom. 12:2), and all the pure 
and holy in heart are ready to say amen. 

These principles apply with equal force to the male 
sex. The foolish, vain, and immodest styles and fash- 



158 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ions to which the worldly-minded cater are an abomina- 
tion in the sight of God and in the sight of his redeemed 
saints. Do not deceive yourself, reader, in the belief 
that you can continue to wear things which the Word 
of God forbids, and still be a spiritual person, filled 
with the grace of God. It is impossible. God's children 
are to be "obedient children, not fashioning yourselves 
according to the former lusts in your ignorance" (1 Pet. 
1:14). 

How often we meet professing Christians who are 
living in open violation of this part of the Bible, and 
who, when we mention the fact to them, are ready to 
excuse themselves, saying, "Oh, these things are not 
in my heart" ! Well, if they are not in the heart, then 
why are they carried about on the person? When we 
enter the city and see a display-sign outside of a store, 
we naturally expect to find the goods thus advertised 
kept in stock in that store. Now, we know that proud 
people manifest their pride in their dress. If you are 
humble in heart, free from this worldly abomination, 
and do not wish to be mistaken for a proud person, then 
take down the sign. If you think these things are not 
in your heart, then it will be a very easy matter for you 
to prove it by obeying God's Word and removing them 
from your person. When you undertake to do this, 
however, you may find, as thousands of others have 
found, that the love of such things goes deeper than you 
have ever imagined. Your teeth may rest so easily in 
your mouth that you seldom think of them; but when 
the dentist attempts to remove one, you become pain- 
fully aware of the fact that it has long roots and draws 



A HOLY LIFE. 159 

hard. Similarly you may be so accustomed to wearing 
worldly adornments that they seem perfectly natural 
and easy, so that you are deceived into thinking that 
they are all on the outside; but when you attempt to 
obey God's Word and discard them, you will find that 
they are rooted in your affections and reach down deep 
into the soul. But Jesus says, "If a man love me, he 
will keep my words" (John 14: 23). "Why call ye me, 
Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?" (Luke 
6:46). 

THE POSITIVE SIDE. 
Nor is holy life to be judged solely by a negative 
standard — by what we put off of sin and worldliness. 
There is a positive side. When we die to the world, 
we "put on Christ." Then we can say with the apostle 
Paul, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; 
yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I 
now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of 
God, who loved me, and gave himself for me" (Gal. 
2:20). Our whole desire is to manifest Christ to the 
world. Being "risen with Christ," we "seek those things 
which are above" (Col. 3:1). We "put on therefore, 
as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, 
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering" 
(verse 12). The graces of the Spirit implanted within 
find outward expression in "the fruit of the Spirit," which 
is "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, good- 
ness, faith, meekness, temperance" (Gal. 5:22, 23). 
Our aim in life is to have always a conscience void of 
offense toward God and toward man. But even in this 
we do not allow the voice of conscience alone to dictate 



160 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

in matters of religious faith, but we render loving and 
willing obedience to all the commandments of our Lord 
and require our conscience to come into line with what 
the Word plainly says. Thus our lives are free and hap- 
py, and are made a blessing to all around us. This phase 
of the subject will be more fully treated hereafter. 

Oh, how much it means to serve God "without fear, 
in holiness and righteousness before him all the days 
of our life" (Luke 1 : 75) ! 



CHAPTER IX. 

SANCTIFICATION. 

Conversion and a subsequent life free from sin, 
taught in the preceding chapters, is indeed a high state 
of grace; nevertheless it is not the complete sum of 
Christian experience as set forth in the New Testament. 
As our object is to set forth what the Bible teaches, we 
will in this chapter show that the New Testament clearly 
teaches a second, definite work of divine grace wrought 
in the heart by the Holy Spirit, a work termed "sanctifi- 
cation." The Bible writers speak of it from various 
standpoints, sometimes one phase of the subject and 
sometimes another being emphasized, and therefore dif- 
ferent terms are used to express it; all, however, are 
resolved into the same thing. When the subject is 
considered from the standpoint of sanctification, a result 
is thereby expressed, and the cause of this result may 
or may not be stated in a given instance. In this chapter 
we will consider it first as a result, or work in the soul, 
and then proceed to show the cause that produces this 
effect. 

The first point that we will settle is the fact that 
sanctification is 

A BIBLE DOCTRINE. 

The apostle Paul states that God hath "chosen you 
to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit, and 
belief of the truth" (2 Thess. 2: IS). Sanctification is 
therefore a part of the work of salvation, and belongs 
to all of God's people. Christ prayed earnestly that 



162 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

his disciples might have this experience, as we read in 
John 17:17 — "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy 
word is truth." He did even more than to pray for it: 
he gave his life that it might be accomplished. "Where- 
fore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with 
his own blood, suffered without the gate" (Heb. 13: 12). 
But it is his own people that are to be sanctified, for 
Paul informs us that "Christ also loved the church, and 
gave himself for it: that he might sanctify and cleanse 
it" (Eph. 5:25, 26). 

This was also taught by the apostles. Peter states 
that our election is "through sanctification of the Spirit" 
(1 Pet. 1:2). And Paul, writing to the Thessalonian 
brethren, says: "For this is the will of God, even your 
sanctification" (1 Thess. 4:3); and "the very God of 
peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole 
spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto 
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he 
that calleth you, who also will do it" (1 Thess. 5:23, 
24). We must be "a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and 
meet for the Master's use" (2 Tim. 2: 21). These texts, 
and others that might be cited, show clearly that sanctifi- 
cation is a New Testament doctrine. 



WHAT DOES SANCTIFICATION SIGNIFY? 
The term "sanctification" is defined by Webster as 
follows : 

"1. The act of consecrating, or of setting apart for 
a sacred purpose; consecration. 

"2. The act of sanctifying or making holy ; or the 



SANCTIFICATION. 163 

state of being sanctified or made holy; the act of God's 
grace by which the affections of men are purified, or 
alienated from sin and the world, and exalted to a su- 
preme love to God; also the state of being thus purified 
or sanctified." 

The word "sanctify" he defines thus : 

"1. To make sacred or holy; to set apart to a holy 
or religious use; to consecrate by appropriate rites; to 
hallow. 

"2. To make holy or free from sin; to cleanse from 
moral corruption and pollution; to make fit for the ser- 
vice of God, and the society and employments of heaven." 

By the foregoing definitions it will be seen that sancti- 
fication signifies two distinct things : first, a consecrating, 
or setting apart to a holy or religious use — a mere legal 
or ceremonial holiness; second, a definite cleansing and 
purifying of the heart and affections of men — a moral 
work. 

Now, the term is used in the Bible with both of these 
significations; therefore we must be careful to "rightly 
divide the word of truth." In the Old Testament, under 
the law dispensation, sanctification is often mentioned; 
but it was merely a legal sanctification, a setting apart 
to a religious use. This was before the time when full 
salvation could be wrought in the soul through the blood 
of Christ; therefore a moral change was not under con- 
sideration at all; in fact, the objects of that sanctifica- 
tion were in many cases wholly incapable of receiving 
any moral change, for inanimate objects, as well as 
animate, received it. Thus, the tabernacle was sancti- 
fied (Ex. 40: 9), the altar (verse 10), the vessels of the 



164 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

tabernacle (verse 9), the laver (verse 11), the mountain 
of Sinai (Ex. 19:23). All of these objects, and others 
of like nature, were incapable of moral change, but 
they could be consecrated for a religious use. So also 
all Israel was sanctified (Ex. 19: 10, 14). This sancti- 
fication of the people, however, refers to consecration 
only, not to any moral change in their natures, for the 
act was performed by man (see Ex. 19: 10, 14; Lev. 
27:14-22). 

But in the New Testament the term "sanctification" 
is given the other signification — a purging or cleansing 
of the moral nature of man. This is shown by the fol- 
lowing considerations: 1. None but human beings can 
receive it, for it is given only to those who obey God 
(Luke 11:13; Acts 5:32; Rom. 15:16). 2. It is per- 
formed by the Holy Ghost, not by man (Rom. 15: 16; 
Acts 15: 8, 9; Heb. 10: 14, 15). 3. It is connected with 
the blood of Christ (Heb. 13:12; 10:10, 14, 15; 1 
Thess. 5:23). It is in this New Testament sense that 
I shall use the term throughout the remainder of this 
chapter. 

FOR JUSTIFIED PEOPLE ONLY. 

While none but human beings can receive this glorious 
experience of sanctification, not all of them obtain it; 
for it is reserved for those who have already been justi- 
fied from their actual transgressions through the blood 
of Jesus Christ. In other words, people must be genu- 
inely converted to God, born again, and living the sinless 
life described in the preceding chapter, before they are 
Scriptural candidates for sanctification. In Christ's 



SANCTIFICATION. 165 

prayer concerning his disciples, he said, "I pray for 
them: J pray not for the world, but for them which thou 
hast given me ... . sanctify them" (John 17:9, 17). 
"Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 
that he might sanctify and cleanse it" (Eph. 5: 25, 26). 
It is the "brethren" that receive "an inheritance among 
all them which are sanctified" (Acts 20: 32). Yea, peo- 
ple must first "receive forgiveness of sins" before they 
can obtain the "inheritance" among them which are 
"sanctified" (Acts 26:18). It was to the brethren at 
Thessalonica, to those who were "in the Father, and in 
the Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 1:1), that Paul wrote 
when he said, "It is the will of God, even your sancti- 
fication" (1 Thess. 4:8), and, "The very God of peace 
sanctify you wholly" (chap. 5:23). 

From these Scriptural facts it will be seen that sancti- 
fication is 

A SECOND WORK OF GRACE. 

There is a definite reason for this twofoldness in the 
redemption of the individual believer. Sin exists in the 
human heart in two forms — actual and inherent; that is, 
there is a sinful disposition which we receive through 
natural generation, and there are wilful acts of wrong 
which we commit by the consent of our own will after 
we reach the age when we have a knowledge of right and 
wrong. Now, these two forms of sin are entirely dif- 
ferent, and can not be identified as one in the individual 
heart without causing great confusion in this subject. 
We are in no sense individually responsible for pos- 
sessing the evil nature that we inherit; but we are wholly 



166 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

responsible for our own sinful acts committed later by 
the consent of our own will. Repentance can apply 
only to our own individual acts of wrong; therefore 
forgiveness and conversion are of necessity limited to 
that ground, as we shall soon see by the Word of God. 
Therefore all attempts to identify in redemption these 
two distinct forms of sin is a gross perversion of the 
gospel plan of salvation. 

We have no need of proving that men are guilty of 
actual transgressions : the fact is well-known and acknowl- 
edged. However, the Scripture asserts that "all 
have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 
3:23). But concerning inherent sin, Ave must give the 
more exact statements of the Scriptures; for, although 
it is pretty generally admitted, it is sometimes denied. 

"The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go 
astray as soon as they be born,, speaking lies" (Psa. 
58:3). While the Psalmist is here simply describing 
a fact, the verse contains at least a strong intimation 
of an inward bent to evil. But again, he says, "Behold, 
I was shapen in iniquity: and in sin did my mother 
conceive me" (Psa. 51:5). This text shows that an 
evil disposition is a part of man from the earliest mo- 
ment of his existence. And the apostle Paul distinctly 
affirms that we are all "by nature the children of wrath" 
(Eph. 2:3). 

In Rom. 7:7-13 Paul gives, in relating his own ex- 
perience, a clear description of sin in these two forms. 
He says: "I had not known sin, but by the law: for I 
had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt 
not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the command- 



SANCTIFICATION. 167 

ment wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For 
without the law sin was dead. For I was alive without 
the law once: but when the commandment came, sin 
revived, and I died .... For sin, taking occasion by the 
commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me ... . 
But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me 
by that which is good; that sin by the commandment 
might become exceeding sinful." Here the apostle speaks 
first of his experience as an infant, when he had no knowl- 
edge of God's law, did not even know that it said, "Thou 
shalt not covet." At this time, although he was "alive 
without the law," he had in him something that he calls 
sin, but "without the law sin was dead." Later, "when 
the commandment came" to his understanding, and he 
transgressed it, then he says, "Sin revived, and I died** 
He became "dead in trespasses and in sins" (Eph. 2:1). 
In other words, the sin that existed in him by nature, 
while he was ignorant and innocent, afterwards mani- 
fested itself in the outward works of actual sin, for which 
he was responsible. How clear this twofoldness of sin! 
And this has been the experience of all who have reached 
the age of moral responsibility. 

Our foreparents were created "in righteousness and 
true holiness," but from this lofty estate they fell, there- 
by plunging the world into the darkness of sin; for all 
have received from them, through natural generation, 
an evil nature, as we have already shown. From this 
fact it is evident that when we are born into the world 
though we are perfectly innocent, we are one degree 
below the line of perfect holiness, since we possess the 
nature of sin. When we reach the age of moral re- 



1168 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

sponsibility and take upon ourselves a sinful life, we fall 
another degree lower, so that we are now two steps be- 
low the original plane of holiness. 

Now, the design of Christ is to restore mankind in sal- 
vation to the high plane from which they fell; and since 
they have descended two degrees in sin, there must of 
necessity be two steps upward in redemption. Are there 
not the same number of steps in a stairway when one 
ascends as when he descends? And the last step taken 
coming down will be the first one to take going up. So 
in redemption. The last step in the descent was our 
wilful departure from God into actual sins; so our first 
step in salvation is willingly to return to God, leaving 
behind all of the sins that we have committed. "Let the 
wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his 
thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will 
have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abun- 
dantly pardon" (Isa. 55:7). "Though your sins be as 
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (Isa. 1 : 18). "If 
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive 
us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" 
(1 John 1:9). This confession and pardon relates solely 
to our own sinful acts, and this is what Peter terms con- 
version: "Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that 
your sins may be blotted out" (Acts 3 : 19). 

Now Jesus teaches that the converted man is like a 
little child once more. "Except ye be converted, and 
become as little children, ye shall not enter into the king- 
dom of heaven" (Matt. 18:3). In other words, the per- 
son whose individual sins have been confessed, forgiven, 
and blotted out, is "converted," and has now regained 



SANCTIFICATION. 169 

the moral condition of spiritual life and innocency from 
which he departed at the age of accountability (Rom. 
7:9). But the infant is one degree below the plane of 
perfect holiness; so also is the converted person, who is 
"like" the little child; in fact, he is even called a "babe" 
(1 Pet. 2:2; Heb. 5:13), and is exhorted to "go on unto 
perfection" (Heb. 6:1), "perfecting holiness in the fear 
of God" ( 2 Cor. 7:1); and he is informed by the Word 
that God hath "perfected forever THEM THAT ARE 
SANCTIFIED" (Heb. 10: 14). 

Natural babes do many things that they should not do ; 
but the spiritual babes, having a better understanding 
and having had more experience, need not commit sin 
again. If, however, they do not watch carefully, and live 
a spiritual life, the evil nature within will assert itself 
and manifest its workings in the outward life, and thus 
lead them back into sin again. 

Paul wrote thus to some of these spiritual infants at 
Corinth: "And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as 
unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in 
Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: 
for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now 
are ye able. For ye are YET carnal for whereas there 
is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye 
not carnal and walk as men?" (1 Cor. 3: 1-3). These 
brethren had from the first of Paul's ministry there been 
"babes in Christ," and had been rather weak in spiritual 
things; and now as they were giving way to the carnality 
of their hearts, Paul made use of this external manifes- 
tation to prove to them that they had been carnal all the 
while. "Ye are yet carnal." Now, he did not say that 



170 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

this state of quarreling and division is the standard of 
justified lives — he rebuked them for it — but he placed 
the first cause for it in the fact that they were yet carnal. 
The whole passage, carefully studied, shows that "babes 
in Christ" still have the carnal nature, though it is not 
necessary, it is even wrongs to give way to it in the out- 
ward life as did these Corinthians whom he addressed. 

So also the apostle John, in that Epistle in which he 
speaks so often about being born of God, teaches most 
clearly that these "sons of God" still stand in need of 
purification. "Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and 
it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know 
that when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we 
shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope 
in him purifieth himself even as he is pure" (1 John 3: 
2,3). 

Again I call attention to the text already quoted, that 
"Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 
that he might sanctify and CLEANSE it" (Eph. 5:25, 
26). 

Furthermore, this fact can be tested in the experience 
of the apostles themselves. In John 1:11-13 we read 
that those who received Christ during his incarnation and 
believed on his name became sons of God by being born 
of God. Christ said to the seventy disciples, "Your 
names are written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). From 
these scriptures we are assured that the apostles were 
born of God, and that their names were recorded in the 
Book of Life in heaven. And the testimony of Jesus con- 
cerning them shows their spiritual condition and accept- 
ance with God: "They are not of the world, even as I 



SANCTIFICATION. 171 

am not of the world." Yet we have in the gospel narra- 
tive clear evidences that these apostles still possessed the 
carnal nature, as when the ten were "moved with indig- 
nation" against the two who sought positions of authority 
over the others (Matt. 20: 20-24). Such desire for pre- 
eminence, and such feelings of envy and jealousy, are not 
consistent with perfect holiness, but are the outcropping 
of the sinful nature within. On another occasion they 
"disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest" 
(Mark 9:34). On other occasions also there were un- 
mistakable manifestations of this evil principle. Since, 
therefore, they needed a heart-cleansing from this inbred 
sin, Christ prayed to the Father, "Sanctify them" (John 
17:17). 

This twofoldness of salvation-work is also shown 
under the figure of a vine and its branches, in John 15: 
1, 2 — "I am the true vine, and my Father is the husband- 
man. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh 
away : and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, 
that it may bring forth more fruit." "I am the vine, ye 
are the branches." (verse 5). The individual Christian 
is a branch of the true vine — Christ. If he ceases to 
bear the fruit of the Spirit, he is taken away; but if he 
is a fruitful branch, he is to be purged, so that he can 
bring forth more fruit. 

Some one has suggested that since there is nothing in 
Nature analagous to the purging of a branch, this word 
purge must signify prune. This can not be, however, for 
there is both a pruning and a purging spoken of. Prune. 
"To lop or cut off, as the superfluous branches of trees; 
to trim." — Webster. Now, according to Christ's state- 



172 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ment, it is the worthless branches that are pruned off; 
while the good, fruit-bearing branches are to be purged. 
Of course, this is not exactly true to nature, but natural 
things and spiritual things are not always analagous in 
every particular. 

The promise of a second work was given to the apos- 
tles in a threefold form. 

1. The purging already mentioned. 

2. "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you an- 
other Comforter, that he may abide with you forever; 
even the Spirit of truth ; whom the world can not receive, 
because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him; but ye 
know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" 
(John 14:16, 17). 

3. "I will pray the Father," said Christ in the text 
last mentioned, "and he shall give you another Com- 
forter"; but in his prayer he did not say a word about 
the Father's giving the Holy Ghost to the apostles, but 
he did say, "Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word 
is truth" (John 17:17). 

Now, this threefold promise is identified in one experi- 
ence to be received by them, the Holy Spirit being cause, 
and purging or sanctification being the result. Proof: 
"Being sanctified by the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 15:16). 
So Christ's asking the Father to sanctify the apostles 
was virtually asking him to give them the Holy Ghost; 
for when the Holy Ghost was received as their Comforter, 
they were sanctified — "sanctified by the Holy Ghost." 
How clear! 

So also the purging promised is the same, being the 
work of the Holy Ghost when received. "And God which 



SANCTIFICATION. 175 

knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the 
Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us ; and put no difference 
between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith" 
(Acts 15: 8, 9). This text refers to the time when the 
household of Cornelius were baptized with the Holy Ghost 
(Acts 10), and Peter affirms that at that time God gave 
them the Holy Ghost, "purifying their hearts" and that 
it was "even as he did unto us" — the apostles themselves. 
There is no way under heaven to evade this Scriptural 
fact that there is a purging of the heart, or sanctification, 
to be received subsequently to regeneration, and that it 
is obtained when the Holy Ghost is received as the abid- 
ing Comforter. Sin is twofold, and salvation also is two- 
fold; yea, "He saved us by the washing of regeneration, 
and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he shed on us 
abundantly" (Tit. S: 5, 6). 

TWO WORKS SYMBOLIZED- 

This truth was typified by the tabernacle of the Mosaic 
dispensation. This ancient structure, the dwelling-place 
of God on earth, consisted of two apartments, surrounded 
by a court. The first apartment, which was entered 
from the court, was termed the "holy place" ; and it con- 
tained a table of show-bread, candlestick, and the golden 
altar, which stood just before the entrance into the second 
apartment. This second, or inner, apartment was called 
the "holy of holies," or "holiest of all"; and it contained 
the ark of the covenant, wherein were deposited the stone 
tables of the law. In the court, directly in front of the 
entrance to the first apartment, stood the brazen altar, 



174 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

or altar of burnt offerings ; also a laver containing water. 

A description of the tabernacle and its furnishings is 
given in Heb. 9: 1-8; while the sacrifices are more par- 
ticularly described in the next chapter verses, 1-4, 11. 
The priests ministered daily in the first apartment, "but 
into the second went the high priest alone once every 
year." This inner room was the dwelling-place of God. 

This tabernacle of the old dispensation was, we are 
informed in Heb. 9 : 9, "a figure for the time then pres- 
ent" ; that is it was intended to symbolize something 
that was to come later. And according to verse 11, 
Christ has "come an high priest of good things to come, 
by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with 
hands." This old house was a perfect type of "the house 
of God, which is the church of the living God" (1 Tim. 
3: 15), in the New Testament dispensation; for "ye also, 
as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy 
priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to 
God by Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5). The writer of the 
Hebrews also asserts that Christ has "his own house; 
whose house are we" (chap. 3:6). And Paul affirms that 
the multitudes redeemed by the blood of Christ are "a 
building fitly framed together, [which] groweth unto 
an holy temple in the Lord in whom ye also are builded 
together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" 
(Eph. 2: 16-22). Christ is the great sacrifice, the anti- 
type of all the sin-offerings of the law, and by his blood 
we have redemption and thus become a part of his church 
or spiritual house. 

But the two apartments in the type must have their 
counterpart in the antitype, and this we will set forth. 



SANCTIFICATION. 175 

In the tabernacle there were two altars, as already ob- 
served, and the blood of sin-offerings was placed on both 
altars (Lev. 4:7), thus clearly typifying twofold cleans- 
ing. So when we come to Christ confessing our sins, 
he freely forgives them all, and we are justified, receiv- 
ing the first work of divine grace, which makes us 
"priests" in the house of God. We minister as it were in 
the "holy place" of God's church, as symbolized by the 
holy place of the old tabernacle. We do not offer sin- 
offerings, for Christ himself "offered one sacrifice for 
sins forever" (Heb. 10: 12), but we do offer sacrifices, 
typified by the "thank-offerings" and "peace-offerings" 
of the law. "By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice 
of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips 
giving thanks to his name" (Heb. IS: 15). We "offer 
up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" 
(1 Pet. 2:5). The show-bread on the table typifies our 
spritual food, and the candlestick, ever burning, our 
spiritual light. 

Those who ministered in the first room of the ancient 
tabernacle were always before the entrance into the 
"holiest" place, the second room, but they did not have 
free access; for in that dispensation "the way into the 
holiest of all was not yet made manifest" (Heb. 9:8). 
But when Christ expired on the cross of Calvary as a 
perfect sacrifice for sin, "the vail of the temple was rent 
in twain from the top to the bottom" (Matt. 27:51); 
and thus a change was miraculously wrought in the typi- 
cal house of God, in order to appropriately represent a 
new order of truth — the introduction of a new or spirit- 
ual house, with perfect access, even into its second, or 



176 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

innermost, room. "Having therefore, brethren, bold- 
ness to enter into the HOLIEST by the blood of Jesus, 
by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for 
us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; and having 
an high priest over the house of God; let us draw near 
with a true heart, in full assurance of faith" (Heb. 10: 
19-22). Thus, by a twofold cleansing we receive a two- 
fold experience, as symbolized by the double altars, two- 
fold cleansing, and two apartments of the old house of 
God. 

The law of God was deposited in the second room of 
the sanctuary; and so this second work of grace is the 
perfecting grace, wherein God's laws are placed in our 
hearts, and we are ourselves the dwelling-place of the 
Most High! Halleluiah! "For by one offering he hath 
perfected forever them that are sanctified. Whereof the 
Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had 
said before, This is the covenant that I will make with 
them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my 
laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write 
them" (Heb. 10:14-16). These texts, in connection with 
verses 19-22 just quoted, show positively that sanctifica- 
tion admits us into the "holiest," where the laws of God 
are inscribed in our hearts, this being accomplished by 
the perfect renovation of our nature by the baptism of 
the Holy Ghost as a second work of grace. "Therefore 
being justified by faith, we have peace with God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ [the first work of grace] : by whom 
also we have access by faith into this [second] grace 
wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God 
.... because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts 



SANCTIFICATION. 1 77 

by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Rom. 5:1, 
2, 5). 

APOSTOLIC EXAMPLES OF TWO WOEKS. 

We have now shown by many texts and considerations 
that there are two distinct works of grace, the first called 
new birth, regeneration, justification, or conversion; 
the second termed either the Holy Ghost reception or 
baptism, as cause, or else, sanctification, perfection, etc., 
as effect. The crowning proof of this twofoldness, how- 
ever, is the recorded fact that the apostolic churches were 
saved according to this plan. We will notice several ex- 
amples. 

1. The apostles themselves. This point has already 
been considered. They were saved men; Jesus promised 
them the Holy Ghost, with his resultant work — purging 
or sanctification; on the day of Pentecost they received 
this baptism of the Holy Ghost (Acts 2). 

2. The Jerusalem church. The penitent Jews on the 
day of Pentecost were commanded by Peter to "repent 
and be baptized," with the promise that they also should 
"receive the gift of the Holy Ghost." They repented 
and were baptized (Acts 2:38, 41). Others also were 
saved later (verse 47; 4:4). Still later we find the com- 
pany of saved people — "the multitude of them that be- 
lieved" — met together in earnest prayer. "And when they 
had prayed, the place was shaken where they were as- 
sembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy 
Ghost" (Acts 4:29-31). 

3. The Samaritan church. "Philip went down to the 
city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them," with 



178 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

the result that many believed and were baptized (Acts 
8:5-8). "Now when the apostles which were at Jeru- 
salem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, 
they sent unto them Peter and John : who when they were 
come down, prayed for them that they might receive the 
Holy Ghost .... Then laid they their hands upon them, 
and they received the Holy Ghost" (verse 14-17). Now, 
these are two separate occurrences, in two meetings, held 
by different ministers. There is no possibility of unit- 
ing them in one work. 

4. The household of Cornelius. Cornelius was "a de- 
vout man, and one that feared God with all his house, 
which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God 
always" (Acts 10:2). His prayers were effectual, for 
an angel was sent to him, who said, "Thy prayers and 
thine alms are come up for a memorial before God" (verse 
4). He was accepted of God, for he knew the preach- 
ing of the gospel of Jesus Christ, which began in Galilee, 
and he was a righteous man (verses 34-37). We are not 
informed just how or by whom Cornelius had heard this 
preaching of Jesus; but we do know this, that Philip, 
who had such a stirring revival at Samaria, had also been 
at Caesarea, where Cornelius resided (Acts 8:40). In 
fact, Philip's home was there at a later date, and it may 
have been there at that time, and in that city the Spirit 
of God was poured out even upon his daughters (Acts 
21:8, 9). 

By divine direction Peter went to visit this man, and 
preached to him. "While Peter yet spake these words, 
the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the Word" ; 
and the Jews were astonished "because that on the Gen- 



SANCTIFICATION. 179 

tiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost" 
(Acts 10:44, 45). 

5. The disciples at Ephesus. In Acts 18:24-28 we 
read of the preaching of Apollos at Ephesus, and of 
there being brethren there. Afterwards Paul "came to 
Ephesus : and finding certain disciples, he said unto them, 
Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed? 
They said unto him, We have not so much as heard 
whether there be any Holy Ghost" (Acts 19: 1, 2). 

A number of things are implied in this question of the 
apostle: 1. That there is a Holy Ghost; 2. That it is 
possible for men to receive him; 3. That he is given 
to believers; 4. That he is given at a time subsequent 
to their becoming disciples or believers. "And when 
Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came 
on them" (verse 6). Later, writing to this church at 
Ephesus, Paul says, "AFTER that ye believed, ye were 
sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise" (Eph. 1: 13). 

6. The Thessalonian church. In Acts 17 we read that 
Paul went to Thessalonica and there preached for about 
three weeks, during which time a great multitude believed. 
But when certain Jews stirred up the people into a vio- 
lent tumult, the brethren sent Paul and Silas to Berea. 
This was in the year A. D. 53. After remaining at 
Berea for a while, Paul went on down to Athens. Some- 
time later the apostle, solicitous for the welfare of the 
brethren at Thessalonica, sent Timothy to inquire con- 
cerning them; while he himself remained at Athens (1 
Thess. 3:1, 2). Timothy returned with an excellent 
report of their spiritual condition and activity (verse 6) ; 
whereupon Paul wrote the First Epistle to the Thessa- 



180 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

lonians, in which he commended them very highly be- 
cause of their faith and obedience to the Word. This 
was in A. D. 54, one year after the meeting which he 
held there. He exhorted them to carefully obey the 
things which they had received of hini, in order that 
they might please God and abound more and more. Then 
he said, "Ye know what commandments we gave you 
by the Lord Jesus/' and proceeded to enumerate some 
of these commandments, asserting that they were the 
will of God: 1. "Your sanctification" ; 2. "That ye should 
abstain from fornication"; 3. "That every one of you 
should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification 
and honor"; 4. "That no man should go beyond and 
defraud his brother in any matter" (1 Thess. 4: 1-6). 
One of these commandments was that they should be 
sanctified. Again, he says, "And the very God of peace 
sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit 
and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the 
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that 
calleth you, who also will do it" (chap. 5:23, 24). 

CONDITIONS FOR SANCTIFICATION. 

This blessed state of perfect holiness can not be 
entered by sinners. The Holy Ghost is given, not to 
the world, but to those who are chosen out of the world 
— to those who are God's believing and obedient chil- 
dren. Therefore the first essential is that the candidate 
for sanctification possess a clear, definite experience of 
Bible justification. But this is not all. Justification 
brings us into a holy relation with God; therefore in 



SANCTIFICATION. 181 

our converted experience the outward life must be 
brought into harmony with the truth, so that we are 
living sinless lives; otherwise we do not remain in a 
justified state at all, hence are not candidates for sanc- 
tification, the second work of grace. 

It is in our special effort to live a holy life that we 
are made painfully conscious of the presence of that 
evil nature within. Realizing that while fighting the devil 
on the outside there is also "a foe in the temple not 
subject to God," the soul cries out for an experience 
of heart-purity. The first disciples were earnestly pray- 
ing when they received this experience (Acts 1 : 14; 2: 1- 
4). So was Cornelius when the way was opened for him to 
receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 10); also, the congrega- 
tion of believers in Jerusalem, after the day of Pente- 
cost (Acts 4:24-31). Without strong desire and ear- 
nest prayer one will never obtain this definite work of 
grace. 

The seeker must make a complete surrender to the 
whole will of God, a perfect consecration of time, tal- 
ents, and all to His service, and himself be sacredly 
the Lord's for time and for eternity. "I beseech you 
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye 
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable 
unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be 
not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by 
the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is 
that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" 
(Rom. 12: 1, 2). When this perfect consecration is 
made, God will be pleased to send his Holy Spirit in 
sanctifying power, purging the heart from the very 



182 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

nature of sin, and will himself take up his abode in the 
pure and devoted soul. Halleluiah! 

"If thy all is on the altar laid, 

Guard it from each vain desire; 
When thy soul the perfect price hath paid, 
God will send the holy fire." 



THE HOLY GHOST BAPTISM. 
The baptism of the Holy Ghost taught in the New 
Testament is a special endowment of the Spirit of God 
in the heart of his believing and obedient children. 
Different expressions are used to convey this idea — 
baptism of the Holy Ghost (Matt. 3:11); the Holy 
Ghost given (John 7:39); receiving "the Spirit of 
truth" (John 14:17; 16:13); "Comforter" (John 
14:16, 26; 15:26); recieve the Holy Ghost (John 20: 
22; Acts 8:17; 10:47); "filled with the Holy Ghost" 
(Acts 2:4; 4:31); "gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 2: 
38); the Spirit poured out upon men (Acts 2:17; 10: 
45) ; etc. These expressions all refer to one and the 
same thing, as will be shown later. They simply rep- 
resent different aspects of the one subject; just as the 
different expressions used for the first work of grace 
convey various shades of meaning, though meaning 
essentially the same thing. But it must be regarded 
as a definite experience in the believer, for in the apos- 
tolic church it was a reality, the Holy Ghost being re- 
ceived some time subsequent to regeneration. The state- 
ments of Christ to his apostles that the Holy Ghost "shall 
be in you," that he shall be a Comforter that will "abide 



SANCTIFICATION. 183 

with you forever" — these and other expressions show 
that it is a personal reality, not simply ecstatic feelings 
on the part of the individual. 

THE SPIRIT'S WORK. 

The work of the Holy Ghost in the heart of the be- 
liever who receives him is twofold — negative and posi- 
tive. His negative work, as we have already shown, is 
to purify, or sanctify. We are "sanctified by the Holy 
Ghost" (Rom. 15: 16). God gave them the Holy Ghost, 
"purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15: 8, 9). The 
reception of him is compared to fire — "Baptize you 
with the Holy Ghost and with fire" (Matt. 3:11)— 
fire being a destructive and purifying element; and 
those who have thus been "sanctified by the Holy Ghost" 
are "pure in heart" (Matt. 5:8), for he "hath perfec- 
ted forever them that are sanctified: whereof the Holy 
Ghost also is a witness" (Heb. 10: 14, 15). Not one 
element of impurity remains in the moral nature of one 
who has received the Holy Ghost: he is in this respect 
"perfected forever." Praise God for heart-purity! 

The positive work of the Holy Spirit is: 1. To give 
power (Acts 1:8); 2. To guide (John 16:13); 3. To 
comfort (John 14:16, 17); 4. To teach (John 14:26); 
5. To increase spiritual fruits (John 15:2 with Gal. 
5:22, 23); 6. To unify God's people (John 17:20-23 
with Acts 4:31, 32); 7. To fit for service (Luke 24: 
49; 2 Tim. 2:21). 



184 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 



IMPORTANCE OF. 

The baptism and work of the Holy Spirit is of great 
importance, both to the individual believer and to the 
work of God. As to the individual, it is the perfecting 
grace, "the grace wherein we stand" (Rom. 5:2), and 
therefore completes our moral preparation for heaven. 
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which 
no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12: 14). "Blessed 
are the pure in heart; for they shall see God" (Matt. 
5:8). 

As to the work of God, this divine experience is neces- 
sary in order to properly fit us for the Lord's service. 
Christ commanded his apostles to tarry in the city of 
Jerusalem until they were endued with power from on 
high (Luke 24:49), and said to them, "Ye shall receive 
power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and 
[then] ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusa- 
lem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the ut- 
termost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8). So also the 
apostle Paul teaches that by being "sanctified" we are 
"meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every 
good work" (2 Tim. 2:21). Alas! how many ministers 
of today are destitute of this sanctifying grace, this 
baptism of the Holy Ghost! Considering this, it is not 
surprising that the world is filled with conflicting doc- 
trines and beliefs. It is the function of the Holy Spirit 
to "teach" men and "guide them into all truth"; there- 
fore when men who have never been taught by the 
Spirit themselves attempt to instruct others, they only 
speak a "vision or their own head," as one of the 



SANCTIFICATION. 185 

prophets has said. Since the dispensation of the Holy 
Ghost began at Pentecost, God does not send out to 
preach men who are not "filled with the Holy Ghost" 
themselves. They may have a call of God to his work, 
but his "command'* to them is to "tarry" until they are 
endued with power from on high. What the world needs 
today is a Holy Ghost ministry. However, all of the 
saved are "workers together with God" (2 Cor. 6:1), 
and all need this infilling of the Holy Spirit, that they 
may indeed be "vessels unto honor, sanctified, and meet 
for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good 
work" (2 Tim. 2:21). 

EVIDENCE OF. 

People have preached and written much about the 
evidence of the baptism of the Holy Ghost. But to ask 
for our evidence that we have the Holy Ghost is like 
asking for an evidence of the existence of the sun over- 
head. The sun does not need a witness to testify for 
it: it stands for itself; and the work which it performs — 
illuminating the earth, and kissing the face of nature 
with its genial rays of light and warmth, causing vege- 
tation to spring forth, bringing life and joy, happiness 
and health, to the sons of men — these works proclaim 
unmistakably, without further witness, the sun and his 
glory. Likewise the Holy Ghost stands for himself as the 
witness. "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our 
spirit" (Rom. 8: 16; Heb. 10: 14, 15); while the works 
which he performs — purifying the heart, teaching, com- 
forting, guiding, unifying — show forth his power and 
glory. 



186 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 



SPECIAL WORKS OF THE SPIRIT. 

Now, the foregoing contains the New Testament teach- 
ing relative to the Holy Ghost — what he is to every 
individual that receives him. The Holy Spirit himself, 
being bestowed by the Father upon the individual be- 
liever, is"the gift of the Holy Ghost" This is shown 
clearly in the case of the household of Cornelius, when 
they received their wonderful baptism of the Spirit. 
"While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell 
on all them which heard the word" ; while the Jews were 
astonished "because that on the Gentiles also was poured 
out the gift of the Holy Ghost" (Acts 10: 44, 45). 

But in addition to the regular office- work of the Holy 
Spirit when received, he sometimes performs special 
works; or rather, he confers upon certain people who 
receive him the ability to perform special works; hence 
these special endowments are termed "gifts of the Holy 
Ghost," We read of these particularly in 1 Cor. 12. 

"Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would 
not have you ignorant" (verse 1). "Now there are diver- 
sities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are 
differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And 
there are diversities of operations, but it is the same 
God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the 
Spirit is given to every man to profit withal" (verses 4-7). 
Here we find that these spiritual gifts are simply mani- 
festations of the Spirit, and that they are not given to 
all alike, even though all be in possession of "the same 
Spirit." Notice the next verses: "For to one is given 
by the same Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the 



SANCTIFICATION. 187 

word of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith 
by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by 
the same Spirit; to another the working of miracles; to 
another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to 
another divers kinds of tongues; to another the inter- 
pretation of tongues; but all these worketh that one and 
the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally AS 
HE WILL" (verses 8-11). 

Now, if we will study the apostolic church as revealed 
in the New Testament, we shall be able to see all these 
special gifts manifested, some in one person, and some 
in another; for all were necessary to the completeness 
of the church. But viewed as individuals, not every one 
who received the baptism of the Holy Ghost received 
the special gift of prophecy or the gift of miracle-work- 
ing or the gift of tongues. It is only by grossly per- 
verting the Word of God that people can build up such 
a claim that any one of these things was manifested in all 
who received the baptism of the Spirit. The Word of 
God in the hands of a Holy Ghost man will easily des- 
troy the false structure. 

"To one is g,iven" one (or more) of these special 
gifts ; "to another," another or (others) ; etc., — the 
"Spirit dividing to every man severally as he will." "Are 
all apostles? [No] Are all prophets? [No] Are all 
teachers? [No] Are all workers of miracles? [No] 
Have all the gifts of healing? [No] Do all speak with 
tongues? [No] Do all interpret? [No] But covet earn- 
estly the best gifts" (verses 29-31). Individuals who 
have the Holy Spirit may or may not have these special 
gifts, but they can "covet the best gifts," and perhaps 



188 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

obtain them — if it is in accordance with the will of the 
Spirit to grant their request (verse 11). 

SOME FALSE OPINIONS. 

As there has been in some quarters a great deal of 
misunderstanding and false doctrine concerning this 
subject, by which Satan has designed to bring the pure 
Word of God into disrepute, I feel constrained to men- 
tion some of these false opinions. 

1. That all who receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost 
speak in tongues as THE evidence. Now, the scripture 
just quoted from 1 Cor. 12 plainly contradicts this po- 
sition, for it shows that the gift of tongues is no more 
general among those who have received the Holy Ghost 
than is the gift of prophecy or the gift of healing or 
the gift of miracles or any other of the special gifts 
mentioned. Nor is there any difference between the 
gift of tongues and speaking with tongues; for these 
expressions are used interchangeably in this chapter, 
referring to exactly the same thing; just as the gift of 
prophecy and "are all prophets?" or the gift of miracles 
and "workers of miracles" are equivalent expressions. 
Compare verses 4-11 with verses 29-31. 

The Word does not say that the gift of tongues, or 
speaking in tongues, is the evidence of the Spirit's re- 
ception; but it is here given simply as a "manifestation 
of the Spirit," in common with other special manifes- 
tations which may or may not belong to a particular 
individual. If you should receive as a present a fine- 
looking horse, what would be to you the evidence of 



SANCTIFICATION. * 89 

your reception of it? Would it be the horses' ability 
to draw a certain load up a hill or to perform some other 
particular task? No. You would not for a moment 
think of confounding the animal himself with some par- 
ticular feat which he might or might not be able to per- 
form. Possession of the horse himself would be to you 
a sufficient evidence; while his works belong to an en- 
tirely different category. 

Now, the Holy Spirit must not be confounded with 
one of his works, so that he himself is denied unless he 
chooses to manifest himself in some particular manner. 
The Holy Ghost himself is the satisfactory evidence. 
"Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness" (Heb. 10: 
15). "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit" 
(Rom. 8:16). 

We have in the New Testament records of three oc- 
casions on which people spoke with tongues when they 
received the baptism of the Holy Ghost: on the day of 
Pentecost (Acts 2) — one hundred and twenty believers 
(Acts 1:15); certain disciples at Ephesus — twelve in 
number (Acts 19: 1-7); and the household of Cornelius 
— number unknown (Acts 10). The total number on these 
three occasions was probably less than two hundred. 
Now, we have in the Acts the record of thousands who 
received the baptism of the Holy Ghost (as already 
shown in this chapter), in which no mention whatever is 
made concerning tongues. Some say that that part was 
omitted. Well, if people desire to build up a doctrine they 
should establish it on what the Word of God says, and 
not on what was left out. 

On the day of Pentecost, when the first disciples 



190 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

spoke in tongues, Peter appealed for objective proof of 
the Holy Ghost baptism to the fulfilment of Joel's 
prophecy that the sons and daughters should prophesy. 
Prophecy, as well as tongues, is one of the special gifts 
of the Spirit. So also when the twelve disciples at 
Ephesus received the Spirit and spoke with tongues, they 
prophesied (Acts 19). Now, if either of these special 
gifts were to be accepted as the evidence of the recep- 
tion of the Holy Ghost, then prophecy would have the 
advantage in the position of importance granted it, for 
"greater is he that prophesieth than he that speaketh 
with tongues" (1 Cor. 14:5). "Desire spiritual gifts, 
but rather that ye may prophesy" (verse 1 ) ; for "he 
that prophesieth speaketh unto men to edification, and 
exhortation, and comfort" (verse 3), with the result 
that unbelievers become deeply convicted, fall down, 
and get salvation (verses 23-25). 

2. That people are first converted, afterwards "re- 
ceive the Holy Ghost." Then still later are baptized with 
the Holy Ghost — thus dividing God's work into three 
parts. This is entirely false, as will be shown by many 
scriptures. The only apparent proof of that position 
seems to be John 20 : 22, where it is recorded that Christ, 
after his resurrection, appeared to his disciples and 
"breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the 
Holy Ghost." It was several days later before they 
were baptized with the Holy Ghost on Pentecost. 

But a particular examination of the circumstances 
connected with John 20 : 22 shows that the disciples 
did not at that time receive the Holy Ghost, but that the 
verse is an allusion to Pentecost; for this was the same 



SANCTIFICATION. 191 

occasion described in Luke 24: 3 3, s. q., where the refer- 
ence to the Spirit is given in other language, as follows: 
"But tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be en- 
dued with power from on high" (verse 49). We know 
that this refers to Pentecost (Acts 1:8). 

Another thing, if the disciples really received the 
Holy Ghost at the time when Jesus breathed on them, 
one of their number was neglected; for "Thomas, one 
of the twelve .... was not with them" (John 20:24). 
But Thomas was ready for the Holy Ghost on the day 
of Pentecost (Acts 1:13). 

But the crowning proof that there is no difference 
between receiving the Holy Ghost and being baptized 
with the Holy Ghost is the fact that in the labors of the 
apostles themselves the two are identified — one and the 
same thing. Paul asked these disciples at Ephesus, "Have 
ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed ?" (Acts 
19: 1, 2), and they replied that they had not even heard 
of the Holy Ghost; therefore they did not have him in 
this sense. "And when Paul had laid his hands upon 
them, the Holy Ghost came upon them; and they spake 
with tongues, and prophesied" (verse 6). Now, this 
baptism of the Holy Ghost, accompanied by tongues and 
prophecy, was identical with receiving the Holy Ghost; 
and there were only two works with these disciples. 

So also at Samaria. After Philip had the meeting 
which resulted in the conversion of many (Acts 8:5), 
Peter and John came down and prayed for these dis- 
ciples "that they might receive the Holy Ghost: for as 
yet he was fallen upon none of them .... Then laid they 
their hands upon them, and they received the Holy Ghost. 



192 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the 
apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given he offered 
them money, saying, Give me also this power, that on 
whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. 
But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, 
because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be 
purchased with money" (verses 15-20). There is no 
possible way of evading the fact that in this case the 
"gift of God," the "gift of the Holy Ghost," "receiv- 
ing the Holy Ghost," and the Holy Ghost "falling" 
upon disciples, are all one and the same thing, in a 
second work upon believers. 

So also with the household of Cornelius (Acts 10: 
44-47). "While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy 
Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And they 
of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as 
many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles 
also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 
For they heard them speak with tongues and glorify 
God. Then answered Peter, can any man forbid water, 
that these should not be baptized which have received 
the Holy Ghost as well as we?" Here again "the Holy 
Ghost," "the gift of the Holy Ghost," and "receiving the 
Holy Ghost" are all the same thing in a second work of 
grace. 

Notice, also, Peter's account of this matter when he 
rehearsed it to the disciples at Jerusalem (chap. 11: 15- 
17): "And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on 
them, as on us at the beginning [Pentecost]. Then 
remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, 
John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be bap- 



SANCTIFICATION. 198 

tized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch then as God 
gave them the like gift as he did unto us ... . what was 
I, that I could withstand God?" On another occasion 
Peter , relating this same matter concerning Cornelius, 
affirms that God gave "them the Holy Ghost .... puri- 
fying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15: 8, 9). 

The apostles made no distinction between these dif- 
ferent expressions concerning the Holy Ghost, but used 
them all with reference to the same thing — the time 
when converted believers are purified or "sanctified by 
the Holy Ghost." These "distinctions without a dif- 
ference" have all been manufactured in recent years 
in order to prop up a false, deceptive doctrine. God 
help honest men and women to see the truth and to avoid 
error! There were just two works of grace in the apos- 
tolic church: the first, justification, or conversion; the 
second, sanctification, or baptism of the Holy Ghost. 
This is God's plan of saving men; and he always works 
according to his own plan, if he works at all. He "saved 
us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of 
the Holy Ghost; which he shed on us abundantly" (Tit. 
3:5, 6). People who claim an experience contrary to 
this truth are deceived. 

THE SANCTIFIED LIFE. 

This experience of entire sanctification, is indeed a 
blessed one. While the justified life must be kept free 
from outward acts of sin, the sanctified life is the com- 
plete harmony of the individual, both internal and ex- 
ternal, with the perfect will of God. All evil affections, 
our spiritual enemies, are gone ; the soul is pure. . The 



194 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Lord grants unto us "that we being delivered out of the 
hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in 
holiness and righteousness before him all the days of 
our life" (Luke 1 : 74, 75). Yea, it is his will that "we 
should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this pres- 
ent world; looking for that blessed hope and the glori- 
ous appearing of the great God, and of our Savior Jesus 
Christ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem 
us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a peculiar 
people, zealous of good works" (Tit. 2: 12-14). Some 
people think that such a high standard is almost too good 
to be true. One man affirmed in the presence of the 
writer that sanctified people could not live in this old 
sinful world ; that if people should obtain this experience 
they would be immediately taken home to glory. How- 
ever, when Jesus prayed for his disciples, "sanctify them 
through thy truth," he also said, "I pray not that thou 
shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou 
shouldst keep them from the evil" (John 17:17, 15). 
This poor man did not understand that instead of sancti- 
fication taking us bodily out of this world, it takes every 
element of the world out of us. 

In this happy condition we are able to "bring forth 
more fruit"; therefore the fruits of the Spirit are de- 
veloped in us abundantly. The first thing mentioned 
in Paul's catalogue of the fruits of the Spirit is love. 
Now, love is felt by the justified soul; but when we enter 
the second, or standing, grace (Rom. 5: 1, 2), "the love 
of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost 
which is given unto us" (verse 5). Thus, there is a 
marked increase in all the fruits of the Spirit. 



SANCTIFICATION. 195 

TEMPTATIONS. 

But I would not have the reader think that the sancti- 
fied life places the individual beyond the reach of temp- 
tation. In sanctification we are not deprived of that 
which is essentially human, but we are purged from the 
sinful, carnal element received through the fall, and our 
human natures are brought into line with the divine, so 
that our desires are wholly to please God. But we are 
capable of temptation along natural human lines. Christ 
himself "was in all points tempted like as we are," but 
he overcame them all as our example, and we should 
take courage and move forwards. One of Christ's 
special temptations had a perfectly legitimate basis in 
the natural desire for food (Matt. 4: 1-4) ; while another 
involved that which was not right — a temptation to desire 
great possessions for the purpose of worldly honor (verse 
8). 

God has a definite purpose in allowing us to be temp- 
ted. It is for our good. Be encouraged; for "there hath no 
temptation taken you but such as is common to man: 
but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted 
above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also 
make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" 
(1 Cor. 10:13). 

One purpose God has in these things is shown by 
James in the words, "My brethren, count it all joy when 
ye fall into divers temptations; knowing this, that the 
trying of your faith worheth patience. But let patience 
have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, 
wanting nothing" (Jas. 1:2-4). 



196 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Now, we can not be tempted and tried without feeling 
tempted and tried. Peter says that "for a season if 
need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold tempta- 
tions" (1 Pet. 1:6). There is no mistake about this 
matter: the sanctified person who is deeply tempted or 
tried does not feel just the same then as at other times. 
On certain occasions Christ himself felt "grieved," and 
his soul was stirred within him; but the records of these 
occurrences fail to show any carnal stirring or actions 
proceeding from an impure heart. So, reader, it must 
be with you. In seasons of trial and trouble, remember 
that the Lord "giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, 
God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the hum- 
ble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. RESIST 
THE DEVIL, and he will flee from you" (Jas. 4: 6, 7). 
Pride and self -exaltation belong to carnality; humility, 
on the other hand, is one of the sweet graces of the 
Spirit, the natural fruit of the sanctified heart. A life 
of humility is blessed with the abundant grace of God, 
so that the soul can overcome. "Blessed is the man that 
endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall re- 
ceive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised 
to them that love him" (Jas. 1 : 12). 

What a blessing is this life of entire sanctification ! 
"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which 
no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14). "Blessed 
are the pure in heart; for they shall see God" (Matt. 
5:8). 



CHAPTER X. 

DIVINE HEALING. 

In Chapter IV we showed that the plan of redemp- 
tion provides for the entire man, soul and body, but that 
while our souls are now delivered from the power of 
all sin — restored to the "image of God" — the immor> 
talization of our bodies will not take place until the end 
of time, when "this corruptible must put on incorruption, 
and this mortal must put on immortality" (1 Cor. 15: 
53). Paul says, "Ye are bought with a price: therefore 
glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are 
God's" (1 Cor. 6:20). This text shows clearly that 
God has a direct interest in the body as well as in the 
soul; in fact, our body is the "purchased possession" 
which will be redeemed in the future, as before stated 
(Eph. 1:13, 14). 

But while this greatest of physical blessings is re- 
served for some future time, the Lord has been pleased 
to grant us divine healing as a sort of forerunner of im- 
mortality. The will of God in this respect is well ex- 
pressed in the desire of the beloved apostle: "Beloved, 
I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in 
health, EVEN AS THY SOUL PROSPERETH" (3 
John 2). 

This blessed truth is established in the Word of God, 
and I trust that the reader, if afflicted, will by faith 
avail himself of the precious privilege of being divinely 



198 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

healed. I am aware that this doctrine has been ignored 
by many; but "what if some did not believe? Shall their 
unbelief make the word of God without effect?" It is 
not what men believe or do not believe, that is to settle 
the great facts of truth, but it is what the Word of God 
says. As Christ said to a certain lawyer, "What is writ- 
ten? .... How readest thou?" (Luke 10: 26). 

IN THE PROPHECIES. 

The prophets of old predicted a special maifestation 
of healing power when Christ should appear. Thus 
Isaiah, speaking of the coming of God's "servant," for 
whose law men should wait, says that he was to be "a 
light of the Gentiles" and that he should "open the blind 
eyes, .... bring out the prisoners from the prison, and 
them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house" (Isa. 
42:7). Again, he refers to it in these words: "The 
Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord 
hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; 
he hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to pro- 
claim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the 
prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the accep- 
table year of the Lord" (Isa. 61 : 1, 2). 

Christ claimed the fulfilment of these prophecies in 
himself. While preaching in the synagogue at Nazareth, 
he said: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he 
hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he 
hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach de- 
liverance to the captives, the recovering of sight to the 
blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach 
the acceptable year of the Lord .... And be began to 



DIVINE HEALING. 199 

say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in 
your ears" (Luke 4: 18-21). 

Again Isaiah makes mention of these things: "Say to 
them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: 
behold your God will come with vengeance, even God 
with a recompense; he will come and save you. Then 
the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of 
the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man 
leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing" (Isa. 
35:4-6). 

This prediction of healing manifestation by Christ 
was perfectly fulfilled, as we read, "When the even was 
come, they brought unto him many that were possessed 
with devils : and he cast out the spirits with his word, 
and healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled 
which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself 
took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses" (Matt. 
8:16, 17). 

When John sent two of his disciples to Jesus to in- 
quire whether he was really the Christ or not, "Jesus 
answered and said unto them, Go and show John again 
those things which ye do hear and see: the blind receive 
their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, 
and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor 
have the gospel preached to them" (Matt. 11:4, 5). 

This healing-work was also predicted by Malachi, who 
said, "But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of 
righteousness arise with healing in his wings: and ye 
shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall" (Mai. 
4:2). 



200 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

MANIFESTED BY CHRIST. 

The scriptures just cited show that Christ manifested 
himself marvelously as a healer. This work of physical 
ministration went hand in hand with the message of sal- 
vation. "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in 
their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the king- 
dom, and healing all manner of sickness and all man- 
ner of disease among the people. And his fame went 
throughout all Syria: and they brought unto him all 
sick people that were taken with divers diseases and 
torments, and those which were possessed with devils, 
and those which were lunatic, and those that had the 
palsy: and he healed them" (Matt. 4:23, 24). 

"And behold, they brought to him a man sick of the 
palsy, lying on a bed; and Jesus seeing their faith said 
unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy 
sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain of the scribes, 
said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And 
Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think 
ye evil in your hearts ? For whether is easier, to say, Thy 
sins be forgiven thee; or to say Arise, and walk? But 
that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on 
earth to forgive sins (then saith he to the sick of the 
palsy), Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 
And he arose and departed to his house" (Matt. 9: 2-6). 

"And great multitudes came unto him, having with them 
those that were lame, blind, dumb, maimed, and many 
others, and cast them down at Jesus' feet; and he healed 
them; insomuch that the multitude wondered, when they 
saw the dumb to speak, the maimed to be whole, the lame 



DIVINE HEALING. 201 

to walk, and the blind to see: and they glorified the God 
of Israel" (Matt. 15:30, 31). 

But why multiply texts to show this accompaniment 
of the gospel of Christ? The Gospels abound with such 
instances. 

"The blessed Christ of God I see, 
In that fair land of Galilee ; 
He speaks in loving words to me, 
I am the Great Physician.' ' 

It is asserted by many that Jesus performed these 
works of healing for the purpose of establishing his claim 
as the Messiah. There is no doubt that this was one 
purpose, and a most important one; for Peter says that 
Jesus of Nazareth was "approved of God among you 
by miracles and wonders and signs" (Acts 2:22). Such 
manifestations of superhuman power were necessary in 
order to convince men that he was no ordinary man. 

The record shows, however, that another motive also 
figured in the case. "And Jesus went about all the cities 
and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preach- 
ing the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sick- 
ness and every disease among the people. And when he 
saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on 
them" (Matt. 9:35, 36). "And Jesus went forth and 
saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion 
toward them, and he healed their sick" (Matt. 14: 14). 

Of course, these last-named instances would also serve 
to prove his mission; but we have clear proof in other 
texts that Christ sometimes used his healing power when 
the manifestation of it was not a demonstration intended 
to convince the multitudes, but was simply an outflow of 
his love and compassion. And this clearly shows his real 



202 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

attitude toward sickness and disease, on behalf of suf- 
fering humanity, during his earthly ministry. "And 
there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneel- 
ing down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, 
thou canst make me clean. And Jesus moved with com- 
passion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith 
unto him, I will; be thou clean .... And saith unto him, 
See thou say nothing to any man" (Mark 1:40-44). 

"With great compassion Christ was stirred 
While he the plea of suffering heard; 
He spoke the great life-giving word, 
I am the Great Physician. 

"He saved the soul from sin and shame; 
He healed the sick, the blind, the lame. 
I know his power is just the same; 
Christ is the Great Physician.' ' 

MANIFESTED BY THE APOSTLES. 

The same mighty power accompanied the preaching of 
the apostles. "And when he had called unto him his twelve 
disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, 
to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and 
all manner of diseases" (Matt. 10: 1). He then sent them 
out, saying, "As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of 
heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, 
raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, 
freely give" (verse 7, 8). "And they went out and 
preached that men should repent. And they cast out 
many devils, and anointed with oil many that were sick, 
and healed them" (Mark 6: 12, 13). 

"And by the hands of the apostles were many signs 
and wonders wrought among the people .... Insomuch 



DIVINE HEALING. 203 

that they brought forth the sick into the streets, and laid 
them on beds and couches, that at the least the shadow of 
Peter passing by might overshadow some of them. There 
came also a multitude out of the cities round about unto 
Jerusalem, bringing sick folks, and them which were 
vexed with unclean spirits: and they were healed every 
one'' (Acts 5: 12-16). 

It is unnecessary to multiply texts on this point; for 
it is well-known that these signs accompanied the min- 
istry of the first preachers of the church. We will now 
proceed to show that divine healing is really 

A PART OF THE GOSPEL. 

But the fact that salvation and healing went along 
together in the early church strongly suggests the idea 
that these divine manifestations for the benefit of men 
were intended to be a real part of the gospel itself. In 
the last commission, Jesus said to his disciples: "Go ye 
into all the world and preach the gospel to every crea- 
ture. He that believeth [the gospel] and is baptized 
shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 
And these signs shall follow them that believe [the 
gospel] ; in my name shall they cast out devils ; they 
shall speak with new tongues ; they shall take up ser- 
pents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not 
hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they 
shall recover 3 ' (Mark 16:15-18). 

Healing is a constituent part of the gospel; therefore 
believing the gospel will produce the effects mentioned. 
"And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the 



204 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Lord working with theni, and confirming the word with 
signs following" (verse 20). "And there they preached 
the gospel. And there sat a certain man at Lystra, 
impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his 
mother's womb, who never had walked: the same heard 
Paul speak: who steadfastly beholding him, and per- 
ceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud 
voice, Stand upright on thy feet. And he leaped and 
walked" (Acts 14:7-10). Now, the preaching of Paul 
inspired this man with faith for his healing. But what 
was the apostle preaching? The account says that he 
"preached the gospel." Healing, then, is a constituent 
part of the gospel. If ministers really preach the gospel 
as did the apostles, these signs will "follow them that 
believe." If men do not preach divine healing, so as to 
inspire faith for healing in their hearers, they are not 
preaching the full gospel of Jesus Christ. Nothing can 
be clearer than this. 

Again, we read: "All them which dwelt in Asia heard 
the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. And 
God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: so 
that from his body were brought unto the sick handker- 
chiefs and aprons, and the diseases departed from them, 
and the evil spirits went out of them. Then certain 
vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over 
them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord 
Jesus saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul 
preacheth" (Acts 19:10-13).. These vagabond Jews 
knew that the preaching of Jesus by the apostle pro- 
duced these results; therefore they undertook to do the 
same work by making use of the same name; but of 



DIVINE HEALING. 205 

course they failed, because they were not true men of 
God. 

So also we read that "Philip went down to the city 
of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. And the 
people with one accord gave heed unto those things 
which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles 
which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud 
voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: 
and many taken with palsies, and that were lame were 
healed. And there was great joy in that city" (Acts 
8: 5-8). We are not told that Philip preached anything 
to them except Christ; nevertheless they heard about 
miracles and mighty works; for to "preach Christ" in 
the Bible sense means to preach him as he really is to 
men — Savior, Sanctifier, and Healer. 

PERMANENT IN THE CHURCH. 

It is constantly asserted by the skeptical sectarian 
clergy of today that divine healing ceased with the apos- 
tles ; but it is a historical fact, easily verified, that it did 
not cease with the first apostles, but was perpetuated in 
the early church. Of course, these divine works will 
quickly cease with unbelievers, but they "shall follow 
them that believe." That they were intended to be 
permanent in the church is clearly shown by the Scrip- 
tures. The commission of world-wide evangelism given 
to the apostles, in which these works were promised, 
was to continue "even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 
28: 19, 20 with Mark 16: 15-18). Therefore in 1 Cor. 
12 we find all the special gifts of the Spirit placed in 



206 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

the normal church, the Spirit "dividing to every man 
severally as he will." "And God hath set some in the 
church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly teach- 
ers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, gov- 
ernments, diversities of tongues" (verse 28). Now, If 
God has placed these functions in his church who dares 
to deny the fact or to attempt to take them out? 

This is not the place to discuss the subject of the 
gifts on other lines, but I will refer to the special nature 
of this gift of healing. It is not simply praying for 
sick people in the ordinary way, but signifies a special 
power of healing by the Spirit of God possessed by 
certain members of the church. Its extraordinary fea- 
ture may be illustrated by the gift of tongues. In the 
last-named gift it is understood that the possessor him- 
self has the power, through the Spirit, of speaking in 
other languages. "And they spake with tongues, and 
prophesied" (Acts 19: 6). "They heard them speak with 
tongues" (Acts 10:46). Also, on the day of Pentecost 
"they .... began to speak with other tongues" (Acts 2), 
and their speech consisted of the real languages of earth, 
languages understood by the hearers. Likewise when 
Christ sent his apostles forth to preach, "he gave them 
power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to 
heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease" 
(Matt. 10: 1). And the apostles realized that they had 
this power within themselves; therefore when Peter and 
John met the lame man at the gate Beautiful, Peter 
could say to him boldly, "Silver and gold have I none; 
but such as I have give I thee: in the name of Jesus 
Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk" (Acts 3: 1-11). 



DIVINE HEALING. 207 

But this is not all. The ministry of healing belongs 
to all of God's ministers and is a part of their regular 
work. James knew this; therefore he could without hesi- 
tation instruct suffering men and women what to do in 
case of sickness. Here are his words: "Is any sick among 
you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let 
them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name 
of the Lord: and the prayer of faith shall save the sick, 
and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have com- 
mitted sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your 
faults one to another, and pray one for another that ye 
may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a right- 
eous man availeth much" (Jas. 5: 14-16). 

This is the truth of God. There is no use in trying 
to ignore it or to laugh it out of the Bible. Divine heal- 
ing belongs to the church of God and is to be adminis- 
tered by all of its elders. This doctrine was clear in 
the apostolic church and did not become neglected until 
the beginning of the apostasy and the dark ages, when 
men lost their spiritual hold on God. 

The Christian pulpits of the world are filled with a 
graceless, hireling ministry, a ministry who have a 
greater desire to make a fine showing of intellectuality 
and learning than they have of preaching Christ in the 
good old Bible way. They are faithless and unbelieving 
themselves, and naturally those who hear them are like 
to them — "having a form of godliness, but denying the 
power thereof: FROM SUCH TURN AWAY" (2 Tim. 
3:5). But I am happy to be able to say that in these 
last days the pure Word of God is brushing aside the 
mists and darkness of the night of apostasy ; for men and 



208 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

women filled with the power of the Spirit are now carry- 
ing the full gospel of salvation and healing to men, as 
in the apostolic times. 

The following circumstance, related in substance only, 
conveys very well the general lack of faith and trust 
in God as regards divine healing. A sister in a certain 
city, the member of a prominent sectarian church, was 
suffering from a sudden affliction and was confined to 
her bed. She began to read the Word of God diligently, 
and received thereby light on the subject of divine heal- 
ing. She decided to do her part in fulfilling the Word, 
and accordingly she sent for her minister to come. When 
he entered the room, he expressed great surprise at find- 
ing her in such a suffering condition and at once asked 
her if she had sent for a doctor. "No," she replied; "I 
was just reading in the Bible where it says, 'Is any sick 
among you let him call for the elders of the church; and 
let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the 
name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save the 
sick, and the Lord shall raise him up'; therefore I sent 
for you." The minister seemed excited and replied; 
"Sister, I am sorry, but I am in a great hurry just now; 
I will have to go. But take my advice, and get a phy- 
sician here as quickly as possible. Good-by." 

The sister, however was not entirely discouraged, so 
she sent for the minister of another sectarian church in 
the town. When he came, he desired to know what he 
could do for her, and she replied: "I was just reading 
in the Bible this morning where it says, 'Is any sick 
among you? let him call for the elders of the church, 
and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in 



DIVINE HEALING. 209 

the name of the Lord; and the prayer of faith shall save 
the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up'; therefore I 
sent for you." But the minister quickly answered, "Why, 
then, did you not send for your own preacher?" She 
replied, "I did; but when he came, he would not obey 
the Word of God and pray for me, but left immediately." 
But this preacher also was in a great hurry, and he ex- 
cused himself, saying, "Sister, you are in a very bad 
condition, and must get a physician here at once. Good- 
by." 

"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power 
thereof; FROM SUCH TURN AWAY." This is the 
teaching of God's Word concerning our attitude toward 
these "blind leaders of the blind" who stand in the pul- 
pits and in many cases preach more skepticism and infi- 
delity into the people than true faith in God. "Have 
faith in God" (Mark 11:22). "And what if some did 
not believe? shall their unbelief make the faith of God 
without effect? God forbid; yea, let God be true, but 
every man a liar" (Rom. 3:3, 4). 

Divine healing is not mind-healing or Christian Science 
(?) healing. It is healing wrought by the direct power 
of God. Most of the healings performed by these coun- 
terfeit healing-movements are easily accounted for on 
psychological grounds, being subjective — the natural 
result of the power of mind over matter. Therefore they 
may succeed to a certain extent in treating functional dis- 
orders, but they are not successful in dealing with organic 
diseases. But this principle is not new. Physicians 
in all ages have known how important it is to secure the 
favorable action of the mind of the patient, encourag- 



210 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ing him in the belief that he will be restored to health; 
for when the patient despairs of life, it is difficult to do 
anything for him along natural lines. 

Now, Christian Science could perform just as great 
healing without the word "Christian" and without any 
claims whatever to being a church, if the minds of the 
patients could be held in the same believing way. The 
deception of the thing lies in its claims to being Christian. 
Its healings are not in any sense divine; most of them, 
if not all of them, are nothing more than psychological 
phenomena. However, the devil also manifests his power 
to deceive through the thing, and thus it becomes in his 
hand a powerful instrument for evil. And there is such 
a thing as direct devil-healing, as we shall see later — 
"The spirits of devils, working miracles" (Rev. 16: 14). 

But divine healing is objective — it is from without. 
It is the power of God bestowed directly upon the indi- 
vidual. Organic diseases yield to the mighty power of 
our Christ as readily as mere functional disorders. "Jesus 
Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Heb. 
13: 8). He has lost none of his power; he has not for- 
saken his people; and he is therefore able and ready to 
fulfill his Word. 

But is it certain that it is his will to heal? First of 
all, let me say that the will of God is revealed in his 
Word, for his Word is his will. "And behold, there came 
a leper and worshiped him, saying, Lord, if thou milt 
thou canst make me clean." This man was sure of 
Christ's ability to do the work, but was not certain of 
his will in the matter. "And Jesus put forth his hand, 
and touched him, saying, I WILL; be thou clean. And 



DIVINE HEALING. 211 

immediately his leprosy was cleansed" (Matt. 8:2, 3). 

Yes, dear reader, it is his will to heal. "We have not 
an high priest which can not be touched with the feeling 
of our infirmities ..... let us therefore come boldly unto 
the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find 
grace to help in time of need" (Heb. 4: 15, 16). It can 
still be said of him, "He was moved with compassion 
toward them, and he healed their sick" (Matt. 14: 14). 
The words of the apostle John exactly express the desire 
of Christ concerning this matter: "Beloved, I wish above 
all things that thou mayest prosper, and be in health, 
even as thy soul prospereth" (3 John 2). 

The subject of divine healing appears to be somewhat 
complicated by the revelation of God's will in a twofold 
manner, contrary to each other. Thus, he has revealed 
his willingness to heal, saying that "the prayer of faith 
shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up" 
(Jas. 5:15); but he has also declared that "it is ap- 
pointed unto men once to die" (Heb. 9:27)^ showing 
thereby that a time will come in every life when the person 
will not be "raised up." This of course does not mean 
that in the last earthly hours the individual can not re- 
ceive physical help in the way of alleviation of pain and 
suffering; but he will not be "raised up." 

The question for the person who believes in divine heal- 
ing, then, is, "Is it God's will at this time to heal me?" 
Can we find out God's will in this matter? Yes. "Be 
not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord 
is" (Eph. 5: 17). It is by the "prayer of faith" that the 
person is raised up to health again; and faith for healing 
requires the special inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In 



212 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

fact, in many cases "we know not what we should pray 
for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession 
for us with groanings which can not be uttered" (Rom. 
8: 26). We may be sure that the real "prayer of faith" 
for perfect healing and restoration can not be offered 
when it is to the glory of God to take the person home 
to himself. But in other cases (which the Spirit of God 
will make clear to those who are spiritual, believing, and 
obedient) it is God's will to heal; and we should "come 
boldly to the throne of grace" for this blessing. 

CONDITIONS FOR HEALING. 

The plan of healing set forth in the New Testament 
is not arbitrary, but is conditional. We must understand 
and conform to the standard of the Word if we hope to 
receive its benefits. Faith is always required, either the 
faith of the individual himself, when he is capable of 
exercising it, or the faith of some one else. For con- 
firmation of this statement consult Matt. 9:29; Mark 
5:84, 36; Matt. 8:5, 13; John 4:50; Matt. 9:2; Mark 
9 : 23, etc. 

But there are other conditions of a more particular na- 
ture, and these are dependent upon the source from which 
the disease came. Of course, sin in the beginning was 
the first cause of this calamity ; but the Scriptures plainly 
teach that sickness and disease are now brought upon us 
by causes proceeding from three different sources: (1) 
Nature, (2) Satan, (3) God himself. These we will 
consider separately. 

1. Natural causes. "His bones are full of the sins of 
his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust" 



DIVINE HEALING. 213 

(Job 20 : 1 1 ) . Overwork and mental strain, as in the 
cases of Daniel and Epaphroditus. "And I Daniel 
fainted and was sick certain days" (Dan. 8:27). "He 
[Epaphroditus] was sick nigh unto death: but God had 
mercy on him .... because for the work of Christ he 
was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply 
your lack of service toward me" (Phil. 2:27-30). "In 
the day of our king the princes have made him sick with 
bottles of wine" (Hos. 7:5). A large part of the afflic- 
tions of men are directly traceable to these natural causes. 

2. Satan afflicts. "And ought not this woman, being 
a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan hath bound, lo, 
these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond?" (Luke 
13:16). "How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with 
the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing 
good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil ; for 
God was with him" (Acts 10:38). "So went Satan 
forth from the presence of the Lord, and smote Job with 
sore boils, from the sole of his foot unto his crown" (Job 
2:7). 

3. God sometimes afflicts directly. The afflictions 
which God administers are not always permissive, as 
in the case of Job, but are frequently direct. God is not 
the author of moral evil, but he is the direct author, in 
many cases, of physical evil; either in the entire destruc- 
tion of wrong-doers, as in the threatened overthrow of 
the Ninevites (see Jonah 3: 10), or in the destruction or 
affliction of individuals, as a direct punishment for sin. 
God has always dealt with men thus. "Behold, therefore, 
the goodness and severity of God; on them which fell 
severity" (Rom. 11 : 22). 



214 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

The cases of this kind are numerous. "Oh full of all 
subtility and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou 
enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert 
the right ways of the Lord! And now, behold, the hand 
of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not 
seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell 
upon him a mist and a darkness ; and he went about seek- 
ing some one to lead him by the hand" (Acts 13: 10, 11). 
"Because of the wickedness of thy doings, whereby thou 
hast forsaken me, the Lord shall make the pestilence 
cleave unto thee" (Deut. 28:20, 21). "But if ye will 
not hearken unto me, and will not do all these .... 
but that ye break my covenant: I also will do this unto 
you; I will even appoint over you terror, consumption, 
and the burning ague, that shall consume the eyes and 
cause sorrow of heart" (Lev. 26:14-16). "For now I 
will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee and thy 
people with pestilence" (Exod. 9: 15). "I will put none 
of these diseases upon them which I have brought upon 
the Egyptians" (Ex. 15:26). "And the anger of the 
Lord was kindled against them .... and behold, Miriam 
became leprous, white as snow" (Num. 12:9, 10). "The 
Lord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues 
of thy seed, even great plagues, and of long con- 
tinuance, and sore sickness .... also every sickness and 
every plague .... will the Lord bring upon thee'* (Deut. 
28: 59-61). "And the Lord struck the child that Uriah's 
wife bare unto David, and it was very sick" (2 Sam. 
12: 15). "And after all this the Lord smote him in his 
bowels with an incurable disease" (2 Chron. 21:18). 



DIVINE HEALING. 215 

Other texts could be given on this point, but it is un- 
necessary. 

In view of these three causes of sickness and disease, 
how precious are these words of the Psalmist! "Bless 
the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me bless his 
holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget not all 
his benefits: who forgiveth all thine iniquities: who 
healeth ALL thy diseases" (Psa. 103:1-3). 

It is evident that God is the only one who can heal all 
diseases. If an affliction or sickness originates in nat- 
ural causes, it may possibly be cured by natural means. 
Such diseases constitute the special province wherein 
earthly physicians are able to operate. If a disease is 
a direct imposition of Satan, he may remove his hand of 
affliction, thus effecting a cure of the individual. It is also 
possible that Satan may remove afflictions originating in 
natural causes. But when God himself punishes men by 
affliction, because of their sins, he alone can reach such 
a case and effect a cure. 

This makes clear the special conditions that the appli- 
cant must meet in order to obtain divine healing. If 
by intemperance or carelessness we are ourselves respon- 
sible for our afflictions, then when we call for the elders 
of the church we are instructed to "confess our faults 
one to another, and pray one for another, that we may 
be healed" (Jas. 5: 16). If we are living to please God, 
and Satan imposes sickness upon us, we can rebuke the 
devil in the name of the Lord, and God will grant heal- 
ing. But when God has himself laid the hand of afflic- 
tion upon us, because of our own sins, then conditions 
are entirely different. Neither man nor Satan can reach 



216 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

such cases. The conditions for divine healing in such 
cases are well set forth in the circumstance concerning 
Miriam already cited. Before healing can be obtained, 
sin must be confessed. "And the anger of the Lord was 
kindled against them .... and, behold, Miriam became 
leprous, white as snow .... And Aaron said unto Moses, 
Alas, my Lord I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, 
wherein we have done foolishly and wherein we have 
sinned .... And Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, Heal 
her NOW, O God, I beseech thee" (Num. 12:9-13). 

So also the instruction given in James covers this point ; 
"If he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him" 
(Jas. 5:15). "Fools because of their transgression, 
and because of their iniquities, are afflicted .... and 
they draw near unto the gates of death"; but when "they 
cry unto the Lord in their trouble, he saveth them out of 
their distresses. He sent his word AND HEALED 
THEM, and delivered them from their destructions. O 
that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, and for 
his wonderful works to the children of men!" (Psa. 107: 
17-21). 

"Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his 
benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; WHO 
HEALETH ALL THY DISEASES; who redeemeth 
thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lov- 
ing-kindness and tender mercies; who satisfieth thy 
mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed 
like the eagles' " (Psa. 103:2-5). 

I can not close this chapter without saying that at the 
present time these signs are following "them that be- 
lieve." The pure light of the primitive gospel of salva- 



DIVINE HEALING. 217 

tion and healing is now proclaimed by a Holy Ghost 
ministry with the results set forth in the Scriptures. To 
testify personally, the writer has witnessed the healing 
of many thousands of people, and of almost all the dis- 
eases that have a name. From childhood I have known 
this truth, and I have frequently been healed myself; 
in fact, until the present hour I do not even know the 
taste of medicine. I will also refer to some others who 
have been divinely healed, giving names, also addresses 
when these are known. These cases are for the most part 
selected from the book "200 Genuine Instances of Divine 
Healing," where the original testimonies themselves are 
given in detail. Every one of these people referred to 
is known personally by the writer, though of course I 
was not present in every case to witness the healing 
mentioned. Many of these are indeed marvelous. 
4 1. Instantaneous healing of total blindness. Mrs. 
Emma Miller Elwood, Burlington, Mich. 

2. Cancer, and healing of broken bones. Mrs. Delia 
Fry, Fennville, Mich. 

3. Chronic diarrhea, acute indigestion, dyspepsia, and 
general debility. James Bamford, 3906 Woodland Park 
Ave., Seattle, Wash. 

4. Catarrhal Consumption. J. Grant Anderson, Frank- 
lin, Pa. 

5. Muscular rheumatism. W. N. Meyers, 2700 W. 
Main St., Louisville, Ky. 

6. Instantaneous healing of consumption. Louie M. 
Bennett, Anderson, Ind. 

7. Catarrh. D. F. Oden, 2500 Ninth Ave., Bessemer, 
Ala. 



218 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

8. Pneumonia. Merton M erica, Huntington, Ind. 

9. Poisoning. A. J. Byers, Newark, Ohio. 

10. Pneumonia and many other afflictions. Mary Cole, 
Anderson, Ind. 

11. Dropsy of heart and lungs. George Q. Coplin, 
Anderson, Ind. 

12. A large cystic growth. C. B. Sheldon, Charle- 
voix, Mich. 

13. Quick consumption. Mattie B. Wilson, Woods- 
boro, Tex. 

14. Dog bite and hydrophobia. Annie H. Martin, Bat- 
tle Creek, Mich. 

15. Blindness, deafness, and rheumatism. Child of 
Mabel C. Porter, Forbes, Mo. 

16. Healed after intense suffering. Orval E. Line, 
Pierceton, Ind. 

17- Sore eyes, female trouble and nervousness; also 
child of diphtheria and bad abscess. Mrs. S. S. Moyer, 
Berlin, Ontario, Can. 

18. Consumption and appendicitis. J. N. Howard, 
Anderson, Ind. 

19. Chronic Catarrh and typhoid fever. G. T. Neal, 
361 Failing St., Portland, Ore. 

20. Deafness and cancer. M. J. Howard, Anderson, 
Ind. 

21. Black diphtheria. Child of I. P. Hamerick, Cowen, 
W. Va. 

22. Serious internal injuries caused by a fall. John 
H. Merica, Topeka, Ind. 

23. Complication of diseases. Mrs. Addie P. King, 
Union City, Pa. 



DIVINE HEALING. 219 

24. A most remarkable healing. L. H. Morgan, M. D., 
Herrin, 111. 

25. Complication of diseases and mad-dog bite. Lena 
Nelson, Jamestown, Ohio. 

26. Eczema, Tuberculosis of bone, and nervous break- 
down. E. Faith Stewart, Cuttack, India. 

27- An invalid restored to health. Jessie M. Osborne, 
Decatur, Mich. 

28. Cancer dropped off. T. J. Brundage, Farmersville, 
Cal. 

29. Brain-fever. David Gerig, Auburn, Ind. 

30. Bright's disease, indigestion, female troubles, 
spasms, catarrh and a bad liver. Sarah B. Hallman, 
5758 South Park Ave., Chicago, I1L 

31. Spinal disease. Ethel J. M. Williams, Corbetton, 
Ontario, Can. 

32. Ovarian trouble. Emma J. Rothman, 2010 Broad- 
way, Pittsburg, Pa. 

33. Rheumatism. David Koroch, St. Joseph, Mich. 

34. Cerebrospinal meningitis. A. G. Pontious, Mt. 
Pleasant, Mich. 

35. Typhoid fever. D. T. Koach, 208 Frank St., 
Akron, Ohio. 

36. Curvature of the spine and tuberculosis. Ethel J. 
Pearl, Eastport, Mich. 

37. Copperhead bite. Mrs. Anna Cheatham, 77 En- 
field St., Belfast, Ireland. 

38. Typhoid fever and other afflictions. J. W. Byers, 
Oakland, Cal. 

39. Serious intestinal trouble. M. Near, Pentwater, 
Mich. 



220 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

40. He art- failure. T. A. Phillips, Denver, Colo. 

41. Broken bones. The writer's father, Joseph F. 
Smith, Lacota, Mich. 

42. Crushed arm restored, and instantaneous healing 
of fever. Lodema Kaser, La Paz, Ind. This case is at- 
tested by Dr. S. G. Bryant, Neosho Falls, Kan., who is 
also known to the writer. 

But why continue to multiply instances? They could 
be related by the hundred. And in addition to those 
already mentioned, they run through the whole list of 
diseases — whooping-cough, insanity, erysipelas, neur- 
algia, cholera infantum, paralysis malaria, measles, 
nervous prostration, many injuries by accident, etc. 

"Oh that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, 
and for his wonderful works to the children of men"; 
for he is the one "who forgiveth all thine iniquities, who 
healeth all thy diseases." Amen. 



RELATIONSHIP OF BELIEVERS 
OR, THE CHURCH: ITS 
MEMBERSHIP AND OR- 
GANIZATION, ITS ORDI- 
NANCES AND ITS WORK. 



CHAPTER XI. 

UNITY OF BELIEVERS. 

In the previous chapters we have considered the plan 
of redemption merely from the standpoint of the rela- 
tionship of the individual with God. In this chapter we 
purpose to show by the Word of God that the same ex- 
perience of salvation which brings the person into living 
touch with Christ also brings him into vital relationship, 
through the Spirit, with all others who have received 
a like experience. 

As we have already shown, the definite and instantane- 
ous experience that makes us living members of Christ 
is the new birth; and as we thus become members of the 
family of God, we also by the same act and experience 
become members of all those who are members of the di- 
vine family. "We are members one of another" (Eph. 
4:25). "One is your M aster ^ even Christ; and all ye 
are brethren" (Matt. 23: 8). "Behold, how good and how 
pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" 
(Psa. 133:1). "Endeavoring to keep the unity of the 
Spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:3). 

So complete and perfect is this Bible standard of di- 
vine relationship, of unity among all the saved, that they 
are declared to constitute one body in Christ. We are 
reconciled "unto God in one body by the cross" (Eph. 
2: 16). "Ye are called in one body" (Col. 3: 15). "For 
by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether 
we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; 
and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Cor. 



224 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

12: 13). Christ "is the head of the body" (Col. 1:18); 
while "we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of 
his bones" (Eph. 5:30). This represents the closest 
possible union, both with Christ and with one another. 

UNITY ILLUSTRATED. 

In different scriptures the apostle Paul uses the natural 
body to illustrate the spiritual body, composed of all the 
truly saved. "For as we have many members in one 
body, and all members have not the same office: so we 
[Christians], being many, are one body in Christ, and 
every one members one of another" (Rom. 12:4, 5). 

There is perfect harmony in a normal body, for its 
unity is not effected by external means, but is organic. 
Many and diverse though the members be, still they are 
all necessary for the completeness and harmony of the 
whole. So it is with the body of Christ. We are many 
members, differing in age, in sex, in intellectual attain- 
ments, in social advantages, in nationality; still it can 
truthfully be said, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, 
there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor 
female: for ye are all one IN CHRIST JESUS" (Gal. 
3:28). 

The body of Christ is "subject unto Christ," its head 
(Eph. 5 : 24) ; therefore we all have "one mind" (2 Cor. 
13: 11), "the mind of Christ" (1 Cor. 2: 16); hence are 
able "to be likeminded one to another," and "with one 
mind and one mouth [to] glorify God, even the Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom. 15:6). We "stand 
fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for 
the faith of the gospel" (Phil. 1 : 27). 



UNITY OF BELIEVERS. 



IN ONE BODY. 

The person who contends for division or seeks to jus- 
tify division among the people of God, is opposing every 
principle of truth on this subject revealed in the New 
Testament. Everywhere we find this same glorious stand- 
ard of unity. One purpose of Christ's death was that 
"he should gather together in one the children of God 
that were scattered abroad" (John 11:52). Jesus him- 
self said, "Other sheep I have [Gentiles] which are not 
of this [Jewish] fold: them also I must bring, and they 
shall hear my voice; AND THERE SHALL BE ONE 
FOLD [flock], AND ONE SHEPHERD" (John 10: 
16). 

In the second chapter of Ephesians we read how these 
two classes of people were made one. Although "in times 
past" the Gentiles were "strangers from the covenants 
of promise, having no hope, and without God in the 
world," in Christ they were "made nigh by the blood." 
"For he is our peace, who hath made both [Jews and 
Gentiles] ONE, and hath broken down the middle wall 
of partition between us ... . that he might reconcile 
both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the 
enmity thereby." Since this glorious reunion through 
Christ, the Gentiles "are no more strangers and foreigners, 
but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household 
of God; and are built [together with the Jews and all 
other believers] upon the foundation of the apostles and 
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner- 
stone" ; and this "holy temple in the Lord" is the "habita- 
tion of God through the Spirit" (verses 11-22). This uni- 



226 



WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 



fication of peoples so diverse was not effected by Jews 
becoming Gentiles, or by the Gentiles becoming Jews, 
but was brought about by both accepting Christ as "the 
way, the truth and the life," and by rejecting all that was 
antagonistic to Christ and his truth. 

The prayer of Christ recorded in John 17 shows the 
sacredness of this doctrine of unity. In the most solemn 
hours that the Savior spent during his personal ministry 
his heart was burdened for the unification of his disci- 
ples. He acknowledged that they had believed on him, 
received his word, and been kept in his name; also that 
they were not of the world even as he was not of the 
world; still he prayed, "Sanctify them through thy truth: 
thy word is truth .... that they all may be one ; as thou, 
Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be 
one in us : that the world may believe that thou hast sent 
me .... I in them, and thou in me, that they may be 
made perfect in one" (verses 17-23). 

While salvation itself brings us into a divine relation- 
ship with each other, the indwelling carnal nature pre- 
vents that pefect unity which Christ so much desired. 
The apostle Paul, writing to the church at Corinth, men- 
tions the strife and division over preachers manifested 
among certain brethren there and attributes it to the fact 
that they were "yet carnal" (1 Cor. 3: 1-5). But sancti- 
fication purifies the heart, destroying carnality, and there- 
fore makes the people of God "perfect in one," as Jesus 
prayed, "Both he that sanctifieth, and they who are 
sanctified, are all of one: for which cause he is not 
ashamed to call them brethren" (Heb. 2:11). And 
while Jesus prayed for the sanctification of his disci- 



UNITY OF BELIEVERS. 227 

pies, that they might be made perfect in one, in order 
that the world might believe, we find that this result 
was reached in the apostolic church. "And when they had 
prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled 
together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, 
and they spake the word of God with boldness. And 
the multitude of them that believed were of one heart 
and of one soul .... and great grace was upon them all" 
(Acts 4:31-33). "And believers were the more added 
to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women" (chap. 
5:14). 

In the early church, purity and unity went hand in 
hand; in fact, they can not be separated; for wherever 
perfect holiness is, there is unity of believers. In other 
words, there is no true and perfect unity without heart- 
purity, and there is no true heart-purity without Bible 
unity: there is no true Bible holiness without both. 

Even the idea of division among Christians was foreign 
to the pure apostolic church. Paul says to the Roman 
brethren, "Mark them which cause divisions and of- 
fenses contrary to the doctrine [of unity] which ye have 
learned, and avoid them" (Rom. 16: 17). To the Cor- 
inthians he says,"I beseech you, brethren, by the name 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same 
thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that 
ye be PERFECTLY JOINED TOGETHER in the 
same mind and in the same judgment" (1 Cor. 1:10). 
Can we entertain the idea of disunion and inharmony 
among the members of our natural body, when it is in 
a normal state? Impossible! So the body of Christ, 
represented by this figure, is a perfect organism, and 



228 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

in its normal state exhibits the most perfect unity among 
all its members — the truly saved in Christ Jesus. 

UNITY THROUGH RELATIONSHIP. 

But I must say something more concerning the basis 
of Christian unity. The underlying foundation of true 
unity is relationship, not development or attainments. 
This we might illustrate by a human family. There may 
be many children in the family, differing in sex, age, and 
intellectual development; still there exists a real standard 
of unity. The son in college never thinks of judging 
his relationship with his brother in the primary school 
or with his sister in the cradle by an intellectual standard. 
The tie that binds them together is invisible; it is in no 
sense proportioned by their respective degrees of develop- 
ment, but has its basis in blood-relationship. But while 
this is the primary basis of union still development is 
the law of normal humanity; therefore as all the mem- 
bers of the family develop in intellectual capacity and 
learn the great facts of truth surrounding them, they 
will also become one in this respect, so far as the ability 
of each one will allow. 

So also in the spiritual relationship. We are "all 
one in Christ Jesus." But what does it mean to be in 
Christ? First of all, it means to be "born again," for 
without this experience we are not Christians at all and 
"can not see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). "There 
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in 
Christ Jesus" (Rom. 8:1). Why? Because they have 
been "made free from the law of sin and death" (verse 
2). To be in Christ, then, signifies to be born of God 



UNITY OF BELIEVERS. 229 

and to have our sins removed by his grace. "Therefore 
if any man be in Christ, HE IS A NEW CREATURE : 
old things are passed away ; behold, all things are become 
new." "Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever 
sinneth hath not seen him neither known him" (1 John 
3:6). By this spiritual birth we enter the spiritual 
family, where we possess the divine life which flows in 
all its members, and are thus "all one in Christ Jesus" 
by virtue of a spiritual blood-relationship. 

UNITY PERFECTED. 

But we must also develop along spiritual lines in such 
a practical, visible manner "that the world may believe." 
We must "dwell together in unity"; we must "all speak 
the same thing." Now, how is this possible? How can 
those who are one in spirit, by virtue of spiritual birth, 
be made "perfect in one" before the world, so as to con- 
vince unbelievers of the truth of Christianity? The con- 
ditions for this perfect unity are: 

1. We must be "in Christ" which signifies salvation 
from sin: "not of the world." 

2. We must be kept in his name, which means to re- 
ject all other spiritual names. 

3. We must receive the Word of God and keep it, 
which means to reject all the doctrines and command- 
ments of men. 

4. We must be sanctified wholly, which removes from 
the heart the cause of carnal divisions. 

All these conditions are expressly stated in the seven- 
teenth chapter of St. John, where Christ prayed for 
the unification of his people. 



230 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

There is a false standard of so-called unity made 
prominent throughout Christendom, which is simply an 
attempt to bring together by external organization the 
professed followers of Christ. But such can never be 
more than a miserable counterfeit. True unity can be 
effected only by meeting the Bible conditions already 
mentioned. Mere external organization — bringing to- 
gether multitudes of people the majority of whom know 
nothing abouta saved experience and sinless life, who ne/er 
have been born again — such, I assert, is not in any sense 
Bible unity. Reader, do not be deceived by such a com- 
bination of diverse elements. Bible unity is based on 
spiritual life and is in perfect accordance with the Word 
of God. The truly saved have spiritual fellowship with 
each other, and know each other, and have no spiritual 
affinity with those who are not of God. They "have no 
fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but 
rather reprove them" (Eph. 5: 11). They are instructed to 
"stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together 
for the faith of the gospel" (Phil. 1 : 27). 

Not one text in the New Testament teaches that di- 
vision among God's people is right; but everywhere unity 
is enjoined and division denounced. We read of one 
Lord, one salvation, one God, one faith, one Spirit, one 
mind, one mouth, one body, one baptism, one new and 
living way, one Bible, and one heaven. And in ord^r to 
serve this one God aright, follow this one Lord according 
to his one new and living way, obey his one revealed 
Word, and go home to this one heaven, we must be "ALL 
ONE IN CHRIST JESUS." 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 

The New Testament sets forth the truth respecting 
the church as clearly as it does any other subject. The 
introduction to this subject is found in the words of 
Jesus, "I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and 
upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of 
hell shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16: 18). 

There has been much discussion relative to the mean- 
ing of "rock" in this text, some affirming that the word 
means the revelation mentioned in verse 17; others that 
it means Peter himself; still others that it means Christ. 
But this point is immaterial: for we know that through 
divine revelation the church was established; that Peter, 
together with the other apostles, was a foundation-stone 
in that church; and that Christ himself is declared to 
be the "chief corner-stone." So even admitting that the 
church was built on Peter, the Word shows that Peter 
was not special in this sense, for it was "built on the 
foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ 
himself being the chief corner-stone" (Eph. 2:20). In 
John's apocalyptic vision the foundations of the wall 
of the New Jerusalem contained "the names of the twelve 
apostles of the Lamb" (Rev. 21:14). 

But it is the fact of the church itself that I wish to 
consider. "I will build my church," says Christ. Over 
and over again men have affirmed that Christ did not 
organize a church, but left this part of the work for 
men to arrange in accordance with their ideas and in- 



232 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

clinations. But this text clearly represents Christ as a 
church-builder, and, furthermore, shows that it is an 
exclusive church — "I will build my church." Laying 
aside all the biased opinions of men on the subject, let 
us appeal directly to the Word of God and see what it 
teaches concerning the church. 

THE CHURCH IN TYPE. 

The church of God is often referred to as the house 
of God, his spiritual dwelling-place on earth. In Old 
Testament times the house of God was an earthly struc- 
ture: first the tabernacle, constructed in the wilderness 
(Exod. 25:8); afterwards the temple at Jerusalem (1 
Kings 8: 10). When the first house, or tabernacle, was 
completed, God manifested himself in it, on the occasion 
of its dedication, in such a glorious manner that "Moses 
was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation 
because .... the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle" 
(Exod. 40:35). So also at the dedication of Solomon's 
temple, "the priests could not stand to minister because 
of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the 
house of the Lord" (1 Kings 8: 11). 

Now, while such were the houses of God in that dispen- 
sation, the prophets clearly predicted the coming of the 
Messiah, and said that he should build another house of 
God. Jeremiah refers to him as "a righteous Branch 
and a King .... and this is his name .... THE LORD 
OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jer. 23:5, 6). There is 
no mistaking the personage here referred to. And Zecha- 
riah says, "Behold the man whose name is The Branch; 
and he shall grow up out of his place, and he thall build 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 233 

the temple of the Lord: even he shall build the temple 
of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit 
and rule upon his throne" (Zeph. 6:12, IS). In ful- 
filment of these prophecies, Christ says, "I will build 
my church." 

The writer of the Book of Hebrews affirms that the 
Old Testament house of God was "a figure for the time 
then present," pointing forward to and meeting its anti- 
type in "a greater and more perfect tabernacle" intro- 
duced by Christ and dedicated by his own blood (Heb. 
9: 1-14). Paul distinctly states that the "house of God 
.... is the church of the living God, the pillar and 
ground of the truth" (1 Tim. 3:15); while Peter just as 
distinctly affirms that it is a spiritual institution, com- 
posed of spiritual people: "Ye also, as lively stones, are 
built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer 
up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" 
(1 Pet. 2:5). Yea, all of God's redeemed saints are a 
"building fitly framed together, which groweth unto an 
holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye are also builded 
together for an habitation of God through the Spirit" 
(Eph. 2:20-22). 

The transfer of God's sanction and approval from the 
Old Testament house to the New Testament house took 
place at the death of Christ, when all the rites, cere- 
monies, and appointments of the former ended. Just 
before this occurrence, Jesus, weeping over the sad con- 
dition of rebellious Jerusalem, said, "Behold, your house 
is left unto you desolate" (Matt. 23:38). Having 
promised to build his own church and complete a new 
order of spiritual worship, he cried, as he hung on the 



234 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

cross of Calvary "It is finished." Immediately "the veil 
of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bot- 
tom" (Matt. 27:51), and God forsook the old house, 
nevermore to dwell in temples made with hands. A 
few days later the infant church, his future earthly 
house or temple, being fully prepared and set in order, 
was dedicated by the marvelous Pentecostal baptism of 
the Holy Ghost and fire. How perfectly this fulfilled, 
in an antitypical sense, what occurred at the dedication 
of the former temple ! And when this organization and 
dedication of the church took place, "the same day there 
were added unto them about three thousand souls .... 
and the Lord added to the church daily such as should 
be saved" (Acts 2:41, 47). So the church was built 
and dedicated, and souls were added to it. Praise the 
Lord! 

Now let us notice the Bible characteristics of this 
church. 

IT IS THE BODY OF CHRIST. 

"And hath put all things under his [Christ's] feet, 
and gave him to be the head over all things to the 
church, which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth 
all in all" (Eph. 1 : 22, 23). Christ is the head of this 
body. "And he is the head of the body, the church 
.... that in all things he might have the preeminence" 
(Col. 1:18). "For his body's sake, which is the church" 
(verse 24). Christ is head of but one body. "There 
is one body" (Eph. 4:4). In these texts the church 
and the body are used interchangeably, referring to one 
and the same thing. The body of which Christ is the 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 235 

head is the church that he built; yea, "the church of 
God which he hath purchased with his own blood" (Acts 
20:28). 

This is the only church taught in the New Testa- 
ment. We can find out exactly what constitutes this 
church by reading the Bible statements about what con- 
stitutes the body of Christ, which only is the church. 
"For as we have many members in one body, and all 
members have not the same office: so we [true Bible 
Christians], being many, are one body in Christ, and 
every one members one of another" (Rom. 12:4, 5). 
The universal body of true believers constitutes the 
church for which Christ died. You can not have salva- 
tion, can not be a member of Christ, without being 
thereby a member of the body of Christ; for "now hath 
God set the members every one of them in the body, as 
it hath pleased him" (1 Cor. 12:18). Inversely, it is 
impossible to be a member of the body of Christ without 
being a member of Christ himself. 

SALVATION ITS MODE OF MEMBERSHIP. 

As we have just shown, we become members of the 
body of Christ, the church, by becoming members of 
Christ. "For by one Spirit are we all baptized [or 
inducted] into one body, whether we be Jews or Gen- 
tiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all 
made to drink into one Spirit" (1 Cor. 12:13). This 
text has no reference to the literal rite of water-baptism, 
but is the work of the "Spirit" by which we are in- 
ducted into Christ and into his body the church. "God 
hath set the members every one of them, in the body" 



236 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

(verse 18). Now, since this induction into the body, or 
the church, is the work of the Spirit of God himself, it 
is evident that no one but the saved can possibly find 
admittance. Under a little different figure Christ con- 
veys the same truth, "I am the door: by me if any man 
enter in, he shall be saved" (John 10:9). 

Who are the members of Christ? Manifestly, those 
who are members of God's family. How do we become 
members of the divine family? Answer: "Except a 
man be born again he can not see the kingdom of God" 
(John 3:3). "As many as received him, to them gave 
he power to become the sons of God .... which were 
born . ... of God" (John 1: 12, 13). "Beloved, now 
are we the sons of God" (1 John 3:2). Now, accord- 
ing to Paul, in Ephesians 2, the "one body" (the church) 
mentioned in verse 16 is composed of "the household of 
God," the same being likened to "an holy temple in the 
Lord .... builded together for an habitation of God 
through the Spirit"; while he distinctly affirms in 
another place that this spiritual temple or "house of 
God .... is the church of the living God" (1 Tim. 
3: 15). 

What can be plainer? All the truly saved are mem- 
bers of the body of Christ, his church; for the Spirit 
inducts us into one; yea, "now hath God set the mem- 
bers every one of them in the body" (1 Cor. 12: 13, 18). 
On the other hand, all who are still in their sins are 
outside of the body, hence no part of the church of God. 
"There is one body" (Eph. 4:4); we are "called in one 
body" (Col. 3: 15) ; we are reconciled unto God "in one 
body by the cross" (Eph. 2: 16) — and this one body is 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 237 

the church (Eph. 1:20-22; Col. 1:18, 24). Hence 
there is but one divine church. It is both inclusive and 
exclusive; for it includes all the saved, and excludes 
all the unsaved ; thus it is "a glorious church, not having 
spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing," but is "holy and 
without blemish" (Eph. 5:27). Reader, this is the 
church of the New Testament. In this pure, holy state 
she shone forth in the days of her pristine glory. 

The unity of believers in one body, set forth in the 
preceding chapter, shows the beautiful divine standard 
of unity and harmony in this church that Christ pur- 
chased with his own blood. But when men apostatized 
from the truth and lost sight of this simple divine 
standard, they began to organize human churches ac- 
cording to their own likes and dislikes; and the result 
is the Babel of sectarianism everywhere manifest. Oh, 
how changed from the apostolic order! 

CONTRASTED WITH SECTS. 
Let us contrast the primitive church with sects. 

1. The church was fully organized and set in order 
on the day of Pentecost, about A. D. 33. 

All sects have originated since that time; therefore 
not one of them is the church of God; and, furthermore, 
all of them combined do not constitute the church of 
God. 

2. Salvation makes men members of the church of 
God. 

Salvation does not make any person the member of 
any sect: people become members of sects by some other 



238 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

means. Some people get salvation first and for lack of 
better light join a sect afterward; some others join a 
sect first, and afterward become awakened to their sin- 
ful condition and get saved; while the vast majority of 
people either grow up from childhood in a sect, or else 
join a sect later, without Bible salvation, and never get 
salvation, but die in their sins and are lost. 

3. The church of God contains in its membership 
all the saved of earth, as well as the ransomed in para- 
dise — "the whole family in heaven and earth" (Eph. 
3: 15). 

A sect at the very best contains but a small portion of 
the truly saved of earth, and that small remnant is not 
in its normal condition, for it is separated by sectarian 
walls from other truly saved people, while the church 
of God was originally one. 

4. The church of God does not contain in its mem- 
bership a single unsaved person; for Christ is the door, 
and if we enter through him we "shall be saved" (John 
10: 9). If we sin again, we are expelled (Exod. 32: 33). 

The door of entrance into every sect is human; there- 
fore multitudes gain admittance without Bible salvation. 
And even those who are saved may lose their salvation 
through sin without losing their sect membership. 

5. The church of God contains all the truth, yea, 
is "the pillar and ground of the truth" itself (1 Tim. 
3: 15). 

No sect contains all the truth, for the whole truth 
destroys sectarianism. One time a certain minister 
held a conversation with a person who was pleading 
for sects. The minister stated that no sect contained 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 239 

all the truth. At first the individual contended that 
some of them did. He was asked where he could find 
the Bible standard concerning baptism taught, and he 
quickly named a particular sect which holds the Bible 
standard in this respect, so far as the mode is concerned. 
He was then asked whether that sect also held the Bible 
standard concerning divine healing, and he was obliged 
to admit that it did not, that one would have to go some- 
where else to find that. He was then asked concerning 
the Bible doctrine of sanctification as a second work of 
grace, accompanied by the baptism of the Holy Ghost; 
and he had to admit that one would have to go to another 
place in order to find it. He had to make the same 
admission regarding other Bible doctrines. Finally the 
minister asked, "How can you obtain all the truth in 
sects unless you join all the sects?" He acknowledged 
that this would be necessary. Then the preacher added: 
"But even then you would not have all the truth; for 
the Word of God condemns sects and divisions of every 
character, and says, 'Come out from among them, and be 
ye separate' (2 Cor. 6: 14-17)." 

6. The church of God was free from error, and pos- 
sessed the truth itself. 

Every sect was conceived in error, born in wrong, 
nurtured in falsehood, and survives in heresy. We do 
not deny the elements of truth scattered about here and 
there in sects, and these portions of truth have in the 
past accomplished considerable good, in spite of the 
errors with which they were surrounded. But while some 
men lay the whole world of sects under tribute in an 
effort to exhibit the truth; other men, more inclined to 



240 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

doubt and unbelief, are gathering together the false 
doctrines and errors contained therein, and presenting 
to the world a horrible picture of darkness, superstition, 
and heresy. This, we must admit, is working incalcu- 
lable harm to the precious cause of Christ. 

7. Salvation, the mode of membership in the church 
of God, reconciled men together "in one body," and in 
the Word of God we find that the church of God pos- 
sessed every necessary provision for their complete and 
perfect unification in the one church. 

Sectarianism scatters and divides the true sheep of 
the Lord, mixes and mingles them with the filthy goats 
and ravenous wolves of false professors, in hundreds of 
separate folds, and leaves them a prey to every foul 
spirit sent forth by the destroyer to blind, mislead, 
and deceive honest souls. 

ITS VISIBILITY. 

Men who are blinded to the truth and can see nothing 
but human churches or sects, generally state that the 
church of God is invisible and that therefore it was 
necessary to have sectarian organizations in order to 
make it visible before the world. But the superficial 
character of this argument is easily seen by all of the 
spiritually-minded. Where was the church of God dur- 
ing the early centuries before the rise of human ecclesi- 
asticism? Paul said, "I persecuted the church of God, 
and wasted it" (Gal. 1:13). Was he chasing a ghost 
or a shadow, or was there a real, living, visible church of 
God that he was opposing? The answer is clear to all. 
He addressed his Corinthian Epistles "Unto the church 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 241 

of God which is at Corinth," and he asked them, "De 
spise ye the church of God?" (1 Cor. 1:2; 11:22; 2 
Cor. 1:1). Many times this expression concerning the 
church is used in the New Testament, but it is never 
used of an invisible something up in the air, but is in 
every case applied to the visible body of worshipers on 
the earth. Still salvation itself is clearly shown to be 
the mode of induction into the body of Christ, the 
church ; and salvation, we know, is in its nature invisible, 
though not invisible in its effects upon men. 

Now, the harmony between these two apparently 
discordant facts is found in the one fact that in the 
apostolic church the spiritual body of true believers in 
Christ and the collective body of worshipers were identi- 
cal. "And the same day there were added unto them 
about three thousand souls .... and the Lord added to 
the church daily such as should be saved" (Acts 2:41- 
47). "And of the rest durst no [unsaved] man join 

himself to them And believers were the more 

added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women" 
(Acts 5: IS, 14). There was no difference between 
being added to the Lord and being added to the apostles 
and disciples ; for the same act of receiving salvation did 
both. 

Now, when this identity between the body of Christ 
and the body of worshipers existed, the apostles did not 
need to write and preach about a spiritual, invisible 
something as the church of God, but could point to the 
congregation of worshipers as the church of God and 
call it the church of God. This they did, as we have 
shown. 



242 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

This identity was manifested to the world in organic 
form as the normal church. It was obtained and main- 
tained in those days by the following means: 1. All the 
truly saved were naturally members of the body of 
worshipers. 2. The spirit of holy power, discernment, 
and judgment which filled the church purged out all 
hypocrites, thus keeping the congregation clean and 
pure. When Ananias and Sapphira hypocritically sought 
to deceive, the Spirit of God revealed their condition, 
and even laid special judgment upon them, with the 
result that "of the rest durst no man join himself to 
them" (Acts 5: 1-13). At that time "sinners could not 
stand in the congregation of the righteous" as God's 
people. Later, when the apostasy set in and men 
through unfaithfulness lost their spiritual discernment, 
judgment, and holy power, the congregation became 
mixtures of saints and sinners, as was the case with the 
seven congregations in Asia Minor, mentioned in the 
opening chapters of the Revelation. But God was 
highly displeased with this state of affairs, which shows 
that it was an abnormal condition ; therefore he reproved 
them sharply, and to the church at Laodicea he said, "I 
will spue thee out of my mouth" (Rev. 3: 16). 

From the foregoing facts we adduce these conclusions : 
1. That a congregation of the church of God is one in 
which the Spirit of God has the ascendency; one in 
which sin is rebuked and exposed, so that a clear line 
of distinction is drawn "between the righteous and the 
wicked, between him that serveth God, and him that 
serveth him not" (Mai. 3:18). 2. That whenever the 
Holy Spirit is no longer allowed the leadership, and 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 243 

good and bad mingle together undistinguished, such a 
congregation is rejected by Christ and therefore ceases 
to be a congregation of God, regardless of its name and 
profession. 

Following the pure apostolic period of the church 
such wholesale apostasy took place that the church of 
God in its organic form no longer existed in any promi- 
nence on the earth, its few spiritual members being 
scattered among the human institutions called churches. 
This condition has led to the ridiculous assertion made 
by certain sectarian divines ( ?), that the visible church 
of Christ is filled with the precious and the vile. This 
may be very true of human sects, but they do not con- 
stitute the visible church of Christ. 

In Chapter XIX the reader will find information 
concerning how God is now restoring a pure church 
with the Bible characteristics, a church that stands clear 
and clean from the entire Babel of sectarianism. 

ITS ORGANIZATION. 

The church of God, as revealed in the New Testa- 
ment, is a perfectly organized institution, and no human 
tinkering is necessary in order to make it right. 

Organize is defined by Webster as follows: "I. To 
form with suitable organs; 2. To construct so that one 
part may cooperate with another; 3. To distribute into 
suitable parts, and appoint proper officers, that the whole 
may act as one body." These conditions of organization 
are all fulfilled in the church of God, and the organizing 
is the work of the Spirit himself. 



244 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

1. "To form with suitable organs." Fulfilment: "But 
now hath God set the members, every one of them, in 
the body as it hath pleased him" (1 Cor. 12: 18). Then, 
the parts of which the body of Christ is composed are 
"suitable." The manner in which this is accomplished 
is described in verse 13: "For by one Spirit are we all 
baptized into one body .... and have been all made to 
drink into one Spirit." 

2. "To construct so that one part may cooperate with 
another/' This condition of organization is fulfilled in 
the perfect union of all true believers in one body, ac- 
cording to the text last quoted. "God hath tempered 
the body together .... that there should be no schism 
in the body; but that the members should have the same 
care one for another. And whether one member suffer, 
all the members suffer with it; or one member be 
honored, all the members rejoice with it" (1 Cor. 12:24- 
26). While this was spoken with direct reference to 
the physical body, it was used by the apostle to set 
forth the spiritual body and its close association of mem- 
bers; for in the next verse he says, "Now ye are the 
body of Christ, and members in particular." 

3. "To distribute into suitable parts, and appoint 
proper officers, that the whole may act as one body." 
This condition of organization is also perfectly fulfilled 
in the spiritual church of God. "God hath set some in 
the church, first apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly 
teachers, after that miracles, then gifts of healing, helps, 
governments, diversities of tongues" (1 Cor. 12:28). 
"And he gave some apostles; and some, prophets; and 
some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; for 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 245 

the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, 
for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come 
in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the 
Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the 
stature of the fulness of Christ" (Eph. 4: 11-13). Take 
heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over 
the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to 
feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with 
his own blood" (Acts 20:28). 

Thus, all these conditions of organization were ful- 
filled perfectly, with the result that in the early church 
"the whole" was able to "act as one body." What sec- 
tarians palm off on the world as church organization is 
in reality church disorganization; for instead of allow- 
ing the entire church of God to "act as one body," as 
in apostolic days, their so-called organization has torn 
it asunder and caused it to act in hundreds of opposing 
bodies. Such is sect organization, but not organization 
of the church of God, for the church of God was a per- 
fectly organized institution before sects arose. Even its 
officers were called to their official positions by the 
Spirit of God — "the Holy Ghost hath made you over- 
seers." They did not enter the ministry as a profession, 
and seek training in theological seminaries in order to be 
fitted for the work; but they were saved men, filled with 
the Holy Ghost, and under the anointing and inspiration 
of the Spirit of God they governed the church and con- 
verted the multitudes. I do not wish to be understood 
as opposing education; for when education is used, not 
abused, it is indeed a great blessing. But no amount of 
mere human education can fit a man for the position of 



246 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

a New Testament minister. In addition to all natural 
endowments and acquirements such a position requires 
the reception of the Holy Ghost — the leadership and in- 
struction of the Spirit himself. 

No conference of men gave Paul his position in the 
church; but the Lord Jesus said unto him, "I have ap- 
peared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a min- 
ister" (Acts 26: 16). Therefore Paul asserted that he 
was "an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by 
Jesus Christ" (Gal. 1:1). However, he was not inde- 
pendent of the church of God; for he afterwards went 
up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before him, 
and submitted himself "privately to them which were 
of reputation" (Gal. 2:2). But it was the province of 
the Holy Spirit to appoint the apostolic ministers. The 
church and the older ministers had nothing to do but to 
recognize these appointments of God, which they did in 
an official manner by the laying on of hands by the 
elders; and this was called ordination. 

PARTICULAR FEATURES. 

In order to show more clearly how perfect was the 
divine organization of the church, I will enumerate some 
particular features, some of which, however, have al- 
ready been mentioned. 

1. It was a spiritual organization, the entire body of 
believers being bound together by a divine relationship. 

2. This spiritual body of believers was exhibited to 
the world in the form of various local congregations of 
worshipers, geographically distributed. This gave rise 
to the plural use of the term "church"; hence we read 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 247 

of the seven churches in Asia, etc. But these churches 
were not different kinds of churches, but were simply local 
congregations of the one universal church of God. Paul 
could travel about from place to place ordaining elders 
"in every church," because these churches were all 
alike (Acts 14:23). 

3. It had conditions of membership. "And the Lord 
added to the church daily such as should be saved," or, 
as the Revised Version renders it, "such as were being 
saved" (Acts 2: 47). "By one Spirit are we all baptized 
into one body" (1 Cor. 12: 13). "I am the door; by me 
if any man enter in, he shall be saved" (John 10:9). 

4. It had a class-book — not on earth in the hands of 
fallible men, however. "Whose names are in the book 
of life" (Phil. 4:3). "Rejoice because your names are 
written in heaven" (Luke 10:20). "And of Zion it 

shall be said, This and that man was born in her 

And the Lord shall count when he writeth up the people, 
that this man was born there" (Psa. 87: 5, 6). "Who- 
soever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my 
book" (Exod. 32:33). 

5. It had a name. "Holy Father .... I kept them 
in thy name" (John 17:11, IS). As individuals the 
followers of Jesus are called friends, disciples, brethren, 
saints, etc. ; but we never read in the Bible of a Friends' 
church, Disciple church, Brethren church, Saints' church: 
but as a church the disciples took the name of the 
Father; therefore we read: "Unto the church of God" 
(1 Cor. 1 : 1 ; 2 Cor. 1:1). "I persecuted the church of 
God" (Gal. 1:13). "Despise ye the church of God?" 
(1 Cor. 11 : 22). "Give none offense .... to the church 



248 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

of God" (1 Cor. 10:32). "Take care of the church of 
God" (1 Tim. 3:5). "Feed the church of God, which 
he hath purchased with his own blood" (Acts 20:28). 

6. It had a discipline. "I have given them thy word" 
(John 17: 14). "All Scripture is given by inspiration of 
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for cor- 
rection, and for instruction in righteousness: that the 
man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto 
all good works" (2 Tim. 3: 16, 17). 

Doctrine, reproof, correction, and instruction, cover 
all the ground that any discipline can reach; therefore 
the Word of God is the only necessary rule of faith 
and practise. In fact, the disciplines of most of the 
Protestant sects state that the Bible is to be accepted as 
the supreme word of God; so that whatever is not con- 
tained therein or can not be proved thereby is not to be 
required of any man. Then, why not throw away all 
the disciplines of men, which contain a multitude of 
unscriptural doctrines, rules, and regulations, and just 
accept the Bible as the all-sufficient rule of faith? How- 
ever, the Word was intended as a discipline for the 
church of God and therefore is not suitable as a dis- 
cipline for a sect. The members of the church of God 
are instructed in case of sickness to send for the elders 
of the church and be anointed by them and healed 
through the prayer of faith. How will this rule work in 
a sect, whose ministers do not believe this part of the 
Word and who have no faith for healing? Now, "all 
Scripture" is profitable and constitutes a "perfect law 
of liberty"; therefore a discipline that does not contain 
all the Word of God is not large enough; and, on the 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 24* 

other hand, one that contains more than the Word of God 
contains too much. 

One of my brethren in the ministry once held a con- 
versation with a sectarian minister who was opposing 
the truth concerning the church of God. When asked 
if his church taught and practised all the Word of God, 
the sectarian said it did, and he exhibited his discipline 
as proof. The brother asked him why they had a dis- 
cipline other than the Bible itself if it contained all of 
the Word; and he replied that it contained all of the 
Word in a condensed and more convenient form. The 
brother then asked him to read out of his discipline the 
thirteenth chapter of St. John in its condensed and 
more convenient form; and he was obliged to refer to 
the Bible itself in order to find out what the thirteenth 
chapter of St. John is about, thus proving that the Bible 
is the most convenient, after all. But he was obliged to 
admit that the injunction given in that part of the Bible 
was not in his discipline. When asked whether he would 
obey it if it was in his discipline, he replied, "Yes." 
Now, this hireling minister of sect-Babylon was not 
ready to obey this commandment because it was in the 
Bible, but he would have been perfectly willing to obey 
it if man had only put it in his little sect discipline ; thus 
showing that he, like thousands of others, was bound by 
the doctrines and commandments of men more than by 
the Word of God. The Word itself gives sufficient in- 
struction along spiritual lines, and we need no legisla- 
tion of a human character. 

7. It had officers properly distributed. I have already 
referred to the ministers of God's church and to th§ 



250 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

divine call and appointment to their official work. I 
will not attempt, in the limits of the present work, to 
set forth in completeness the primitive form of church 
government. The ministers of the Word, however, were 
of two classes, which I will denominate general and local. 
Those who were called of God to the general work were 
specially used in raising up new churches and in exercis- 
ing a general oversight of their spiritual affairs after 
they were raised up; while the local ministers had the 
particular care of their own congregations. Thus, we 
find Paul and Barnabas, as general ministers, visiting 
the local congregations they had raised up, and ordain- 
ing elders in every church (Acts 14:22, 23). So also 
Paul writes to Titus: "For this cause left I thee in Crete, 
that thou shouldest set in order the things that are want- 
ing, and ordain elders in every city, as I had appointed 
thee" (Tit. 1:5). 

Now, these general ministers had a general burden, 
care, and responsibility of all the work of God. The 
apostles and elders at Jerusalem felt it to be their duty 
and responsibility to counteract the influence of certain 
law-teachers who were troubling the Gentile brethren; 
and this they did by repudiating the doctrines taught, 
saying, "to whom we gave no such commandment'* (Acts 
15:24). Paul states that he was burdened daily with 
"the care of all the churches" (2 Cor. 11:28). 

The local elders, however, were chiefly limited in 
responsibility to their own congregations; and Peter 
exhorts them, saying, "Feed the flock of God which is 
among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by con- 
straint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 251! 

mind; neither as being lords over God's heritage but 
being ensamples to the flock" (1 Pet. 5:2, 3). And 
Paul thus instructed the local elders of the church of 
Ephesus: "Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to 
all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made 
you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath 
purchased with his own blood" (Acts 20: 28). The min- 
isters whom God called and set in his church were such 
as possessed spiritual gifts and qualifications fitting them 
for the great work to be accomplished; their ministry 
was therefore under the direct authority and inspiration 
of the Holy Ghost. 

There was also a special class of officers called deacons, 
whose specific work was the ministration of temporal 
affairs connected with the local church (1 Tim. 3:8-13 
with Acts 6: 1-6). 

I have already shown that there was but one body, 
therefore only one divine church, and that its members 
were bound together by the closest tie of spiritual rela- 
tionship and sympathy; but it is fitting that we also 
observe some particular points of the relation of mem- 
bers to each other. There was 

EQUALITY OF MEMBERS. 
Men have always been prone to divide the race into 
clans; classes; and castes. But the Word of God recog- 
nizes the essential unity of the human race; it teaches 
that all are in one sense on the same plane, because of 
universal sin, and that hence all stand in need of re- 
demption; therefore it lifts up a standard of spiritual 
equality for all those who are redeemed. "Let the 



253 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: but 
the rich, in that he is made low" (Jas. 1: 9, 10). This 
places all on the same plane in Christ. "For by one 
Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we 
be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free" 
(1 Cor. 12: 13). "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there 
is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; 
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). The 
apostle James strongly reproves those who would re- 
spect a rich man more than a poor man (Jas. 2: 1-4). 

EQUALITY OF MINISTERS. 

To the first ministers Christ said, "Be not ye called 
Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye 
are brethren" (Matt. 23:8). And when some of their 
number sought for a position of preeminence over the 
rest, Christ referred to conditions among the Gentiles, 
how the great men domineer over the others, and said, 
''It shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be 
great among you let him be your minister; and whoso- 
ever will be chief among you let him be your servant: 
even as the Son of man come not to be ministered unto, 
but to minister" (Matt. 20: 20-28). 

While the greater gifts and qualifications of some of the 
apostles made them more useful than others and placed 
greater responsibilities upon them, still this humble 
standard of equality was maintained until the apostasy 
began to develop. The apostle John was one of the 
chief men among the first apostles, and that he exer- 
cised general oversight and authority is shown by the 
attitude which he took toward the proud and bigoted 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 258 

Diotrephes, an unworthy and overbearing local elder. 
"I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth 
to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. 
Wherefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which 
he doeth, prating against us with malicious words: and 
not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive the 
brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth 
them out of the church" (8 John 9, 10). But notwith- 
standing the general oversight and responsibility of this 
apostle, he humbly and affectionately writes to the 
churches of Asia Minor, "I John also am your brother, 
and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and 
patience of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 1:9). No minister in 
the early church possessed such great gifts and spiritual 
qualifications as did the apostle Paul, and his respon- 
sibilities were doubtless greater than all; nevertheless 
he humbly acknowledges himself to be "less than the 
least of all saints" (Eph. 8:8). 

EQUALITY OF MEN AND WOMEN 
IN THE CHURCH. 

This is a feature which, of all the religions of the 
world, belongs to Christianity. In heathenism women 
are regarded as greatly inferior to men and generally 
have little or no place in religion, unless, indeed, it is in 
some dishonorable connection, as in some of the licen- 
tious orgies. But among the Jews even the laws of 
Moses made special provision for women, and they were 
honored and respected; some of them even rose to posi- 
tions of prominence, as Deborah, who held an official 



354 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

position in Israel. "And Deborah, a prophetess .... 
she judged Israel at that time" (Judges 4:4). She 
also led the armies of Israel to victorious conflict (Judges 
4). Christ delivered one of his greatest sermons to a 
single woman by a well-side in Samaria (John 4) ; and 
a woman was the first messenger sent to proclaim the 
great fact of the resurrection. The apostle Paul dis- 
tinctly recognizes the equality of women with men, in 
the words, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is 
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: 
for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. 3:28). 

WOMEN IN OFFICIAL POSITIONS. 
This equality of women with men in the apostolic 
church extended even to official positions. 

1. As deaconesses. The original Greek of Rom. 16: 1 
clearly shows that Phebe, a woman, was a deaconess of 
the church at Cenchrea. Now, "the office of a deacon" 
was a distinct, public official position in the church, and 
its candidates were publicly ordained by the laying on 
of the hands of the apostles (1 Tim. 3: 8-13 with Acts 
6: 1-6). 

2. As ministers. Nor was the ministry of women limited 
to temporal affairs. We read in different texts of Priscilla 
and her husband Acquilla (the name of the woman 
usually standing first), and find that on one occasion 
they jointly took Apollos, a powerful minister of the 
gospel, and "expounded unto him the way of God more 
perfectly" (Acts 18:26). The first sermon concerning 
the Christ was preached in the temple to the people of 
Jerusalem by Anna the prophetess — a woman (Luke 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 255 

2:36-38). The Samaritan woman whom Jesus met at 
the well-side went into her city and proclaimed Christ to 
the people with the result that "many of the Samaritans 
of the city believed on him for the saying of the woman" 
(John 4:39). On the day of Pentecost the Spirit of 
God was poured out publicly upon the women, and they 
prophesied in the presence of the wondering multitudes. 
Philip the evangelist "had four daughters, virgins, which 
did prophesy" (Acts 21: 8, 9). 

Now, what does it mean to prophesy? The primary 
signification of the term is to speak forth, to tell out the 
message or the mysteries of God. Its secondary mean- 
ing (in some respects the outgrowth of the first) is to 
foretell future events. Paul clearly shows that the "gift 
of prophecy" is to "understand all mysteries, and all 
knowledge" (1 Cor. 13:2). To prophesy, then, is to 
proclaim the mysteries and knowledge of God. The same 
apostle declares that redemption itself was a "mystery," 
"the hidden wisdom .... which none of the princes of 
this world knew"; and yet it is revealed to us by the 
Spirit of God: "which things also we speak, not in the 
words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the 
Holy Ghost teacheth"; for "the natural man receiveth 
not the things of the Spirit of God : for they are foolish- 
ness unto him: neither can he know them, because they 
are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:7-14). 

To preach the gospel of Christ, then, under the in- 
spiration of the Holy Ghost is to proclaim the "mys- 
teries," the "hidden wisdom" of God — to prophesy. 
This is the application which the apostle himself makes 
of it; for he says, "He that prophesieth speaketh unto 



256 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

men to edification, and exhortation, and comfort" (1 Cor. 
14: 3). This prophecy is the public proclamation of the 
gospel; for he further says in the same chapter, "If 
therefore the whole church be come together in one 
place, and all speak with tongues, and there come in 
those that are unlearned, or unbelievers, will they not 
say ye are mad? But if all prophesy, and there come 
in one that believeth not, or one unlearned, he is con- 
vinced of all, he is judged of all: and thus are the 
secrets of his heart made manifest; and so falling down 
on his face, he will worship God, and report that God 
is in you of a truth" (verses 23-25). What is it that 
reveals the secrets of men's hearts and brings convic- 
tion upon their souls ? It is the preaching of the word of 
God. "For the word of God is quick and powerful, 
sharper than any two-edged sword .... and is a dis- 
cerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart" (Heb. 
4: 12). No one can deny, without twisting the Scrip- 
tures, that the prophecy of which Paul speaks is nothing 
else than the Holy Ghost public preaching of the gospel 
itself when the church is "come together in one place." 
(1 Cor. 14:23, 24). 

Now, the prophet Joel declared, "On my servants and 
on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my 
Spirit, and they shall prophesy (Joel 2:28, 29); and 
Peter declares that the Pentecostal experience, when the 
women spoke publicly "as the Spirit gave them ut- 
terance," was a fulfilment of this prediction (Acts 1: 14, 
15; 2:4, 14-18). 

From many considerations it is evident that Paul 
recognized woman's place in the gospel; for he wrote to 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 257 

the Philippians, "Help those women which labored with 
me in the gospel, with Clement also, with other my fellow 
laborers, whose names are in the book of life" (Phil. 
4:3). Clement was a minister, and these women are 
ranked with him and others as Paul's fellow laborers in 
the gospel of Christ. "Fellow laborers" means laborers 
together on the same plane and in the same work. This 
was only carrying out in a practical way the doctrine 
of the apostle himself, that in Christ Jesus there is 
"neither male nor female." 

The great Tertullian, after the apostolic age, recog- 
nizes this same equality of men and women, in the Word : 
"Together they pray, together prostrate themselves, to- 
gether perform their fasts; mutually teaching, mutually 
exhorting, mutually sustaining. Equal are they both 
found in the church of God/* — Part IV, Book II, Chap. 8. 
NECESSARY EXCEPTIONS. 

In this connection it is necessary to notice some ex- 
ceptions to this general standard. In planting the gospel 
among different nations, varying in customs and social 
conditions, the apostle Paul on many occasions found it 
necessary as a matter of expediency to accommodate him- 
self to their particular ways and social standards. This 
accommodation he expresses in these words: "Unto the 
Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews ; to 
them that are under the law, as under the law, that I 
might gain them that are under the law; to them that 
are Without law, as without law (being not without law 
to God, but under the law of Christ) that I might gain 
them that are without law I am made all things to 



258 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

all men, that I might by all means save some. And this 
I do for the gospel's sake" (1 Cor. 9:20-23). 

In this same Epistle Paul admits that he wrote some 
things to the Corinthians that were, in his opinion, "good 
for the present distress" (chap. 7:26); hence these 
things were not a standard for all people and for all 
ages. One of the tilings to which he found it necessary, 
as a matter of expediency, to accommodate himself was 
their social standaid concerning women. This church 
was in a heal hen environment, to the social standards of 
which some deference had to be paid if the church hoped 
to win souls to Christ. In this heathen city women were 
regarded as vastly inierior to men and had no honor- 
able place in the heathen religion ; but, as Strabo informs 
us, one of their temples had one thousand consecrated 
prostitutes. Now, with such a social standard and such 
public sentiment concerning women's place in religion, 
what course could the apostle take other than what he 
did take — command the Christian women there to "keep 
silence in the church" (1 Cor. 14: 34)? 

I Tim. 2: 11-15 does not cover the subject of women's 
official position in the church as set forth in the other 
Scriptures. It applies to the proper relationship of the 
woman with her own husband. This is shown by the 
example given — Adam and Eve — and by its connection 
with "childbearing," etc. The design of this scripture is 
to maintain the proper domestic relationship, wherein 
the wife is to recognize the fact that her husband is by 
nature her "head" in this respect. "For the husband 
is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the 
church" (Eph. 5:23). But in spiritual things the hus- 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 259 

band is not the head of the wife. "Christ is the head of 
the church," and "the church is subject unto Christ" 
(Eph. 5 : 23, 24) ; therefore in spiritual things the 
woman's subjection, first of all, is to Christ, and she 
"ought to obey God rather than men." Thus Sapphira 
was accountable directly to God, and not to her husband, 
in a matter which concerned the church (Acts 5: 1-10). 

THE WOMEN'S HEAD-COVERING. 

When these heathen women at Corinth appeared in 
public, they were always heavily veiled, in accordance 
with a very ancient custom (Gen. 24: 65), and the same 
custom exists among many Oriental peoples until this 
day. By the people it was regarded as a shame for them 
to appear otherwise, and as a matter of disgrace par- 
ticularly to the husband. Therefore the apostle said, 
"Every woman praying or prophesying with her head 
uncovered dishonoreth her head" — her husband, "for the 
head of the woman is the man" (1 Cor. 11:4, 5). 

Under these conditions Paul instructed the Christian 
women at Corinth to retain their veils, in accordance 
with the common custom (not of the church, but of the 
country), even while in prayer. He did not instruct 
women who had never worn such a veil to put one on 
while praying, but taught that those who had the custom 
of veil-wearing already should not uncover when they 
prayed ; in other words, they should wear it all the while, 
as the custom of the people demanded. 

The words of the apostle himself show clearly that the 
head-covering mentioned was based on conditions exist- 



260 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ing before the establishment of the gospel and was there- 
fore no part of the gospel itself. He says: "The man 
is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither 
was the man created for the woman; but the woman for 
the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power 
[Margin, a covering, in sign that she is under the power 
of her husband] on her head because of the angels" 
(1 Cor. 11:8-10). In other words, the veil-wearing 
was based on the idea of the inferiority of women and 
was a special sign that she was "under the power of 
her husband." 

Now, woman's Edenic condition was not one of in- 
feriority to her husband, but she was created as his 
"helpmeet" (Gen. 2:20). But on account of her promi- 
nent part in the fall, rushing forward into things 
which she ought not, and influencing her husband 
wrongly, she was afterwards placed in a dependent 
position. "In sorrow shalt thou bring forth children ; 
and thy desire [submission] shalt be to thy husband, 
and he shall rule over thee" (Gen. 3: 16). 

But the gospel restores matrimony to its original state 
— the union of one man and one woman for life (Matt. 
5:32; Rom. 7:2, 3; 1 Cor. 7:10, 11, 39). And more 
than this, under the gospel standard the wife becomes 
once more a true "helpmeet," according to the original 
design, the husband even being specially instructed to 
dwell with her "according to knowledge, giving honor 
unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being 
heirs together of the grace of life" (1 Pet. 3:7). Under 
this standard the husband is no longer to "rule over" 
his wife in a domineering way; they are "heirs together 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 261 

of the grace of life." In the Christian family the law 
of love is the only law. "Husbands love your wives/' 
says the apostle Paul (Eph. 5: 25), and in another place 
he says that the younger women are to be instructed "to 
love their husbands" (Tit. 2:4). The obedience of 
wives to their own husbands, which is frequently men- 
tioned, is only such obedience as will harmonize with 
this greater law of love. The idea, then, that woman 
must wear a head-covering "in sign that she is under the 
power of her hu&band" is foreign to the gospel standard. 
Such might be consistent under the old order of things, 
but not under the gospel. 

In the very next verses of 1 Cor. 11, following the 
ones already quoted (in which woman's inferiority to 
man, under the old order, is implied), the apostle shows 
the true standard of equality: "Nevertheless neither is 
the man without the woman, neither the woman without 
the man, IN THE LORD. For as the woman is of the 
man, so is the man also by the woman; but all things of 
God" (verses 11, 12). So all the arguments concern- 
ing woman's inferiority -based on the fact of her being 
created last (which is the very argument for the head- 
covering made in verses 8-10) are in verses 11 and 12 
contradicted by the apostle and shown to be without any 
weight "in the Lord"; for man is now by the woman just 
as truly as the woman is by the man — there is no dif- 
ference. Furthermore, if this creation argument rested 
upon a solid basis in fact, it would prove woman's superi- 
ority rather than her inferiority; for in the natural order 
the greatest things were created last. If this be not 
true, then, according to the nature argument, man must 



262 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

admit that he is inferior to the horse, because the horse 
was created first! "There is neither .... male nor fe- 
male; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus** (Gal. 3:28). 

The idea that the wearing of the woman's head-cover- 
ing is an ordinance or observance of the New Testament 
church is contrary in its nature to the general tenor of 
the gospel itself. Such an ordinance, or requirement — 
that women must cover their heads, while men must not 
— could have no other object than to force a distinction 
between the sexes and place one inferior to the other. 
But all the other ordinances apply to men and women 
alike, and indicate unity and equality. We do not read: 
"Let your men be baptized, but your women not," nor 
"Let your women partake of the communion, but your 
men not." On the other hand, when Philip preached the 
gospel in Samaria the believers were "baptized both 
men and women" (Acts 8: 12). Even the ordinance of 
feet-washing is for both sexes. It was begun among the 
apostles, who were all men (John 13); but afterwards 
we read concerning the widow, "If she have washed the 
saints' feet" (1 Tim. 5:10). And even though custom 
and propriety suggest that the men wash the feet of the 
men, and the women the feet of the women, as we 
practise, the ordinance itself does not force a distinction 
between the sexes; for the command is the same to both 
sexes, and both sexes obey it alike. 

But the great proof that the apostle Paul was not 
establishing among the Corinthians women's head-cover- 
ing as an ordinance of the New Testament church is the 
fact, easily shown, that neither Paul nor any other 
apostle could establish an ordinance of the church. In 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 263 

Heb. 9: 15-18 the apostle treats the new covenant as a 
will which was made effective by the death of Christ. 
"For where a testament is, there must also of necessity- 
be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force 
after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all" 
(verses 16, 17). 

Now, Christ himself was the "mediator of a better 
covenant" (chap. 8:6). He delivered it during his 
ministry, and it was brought into effect by his death — 
"the death of the testator." And the same apostle dis- 
tinctly affirms that if a "covenant be confirmed, no man 
disannulleth or addeth thereto" (Gal. 3: 15). It was not 
in the power of Paul or any one else to add to the new 
covenant after its dedication by the death of Christ. 
The apostle and other God-chosen persons could 
execute the terms of the covenant and explain its rela- 
tions with the covenant which preceded it, and this 
they did; but they could not add one new ordinance to 
that covenant: "no man disannuleth or addeth thereto." 
It is evident that the apostle who wrote these facts 
would not himself attempt to establish woman's head- 
covering as a New Testament rule or ordinance twenty- 
five years after the "death of the testator." 

John 16: 12 indicates that there were many things for 
the apostles to learn after the crucifixion of Christ, but 
these pertained to the relationship of the old covenant 
with the new, which things they could not at that time 
understand; but the Spirit made all clear afterwards. 
The entire book of Hebrews was written in order to 
make this relationship between the old and the new cov- 
enants clear, and still the Jews were scarcely able to 



264 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"bear it." Therefore the writer says, "We have many 
things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull 
of hearing" (chap. 5:11). 

Now, all the New Testament ordinances are found in 
the Gospels, and were established either by the direct 
command or by the personal example of Christ himself; 
and therefore they were delivered by the apostles to the 
churches. But there is no woman's head-covering in the 
Gospels. That is something that does not relate to the 
church of God, but to custom, and that custom was based 
on the old order of things. The apostle says, "Judge 
in yourselves, is it comely that a woman pray unto God 
uncovered?" (1 Cor. 11:18). A positive New Testa- 
ment ordinance, binding upon all people, is not left to 
the private judgment of individuals. But concerning 
the head-covering they could "judge in themselves." In 
this case, those people who have the custom would prob- 
ably "judge in themselves" that it would be good for 
their women to continue what custom demands ; while, on 
the other hand, those of us who "have no such custom" 
(verse 16) "judge in ourselves'* that this custom is in 
no wise profitable or essential for us in our altered state 
of society. 

The foregoing instances, however, were not the general 
standard of the apostolic church, as a multitude of scrip- 
tures prove, but were simply accommodations to certain 
local conditions among the heathen Gentiles. Jewish 
women did not "keep silence in the churches," but proph- 
esied in public, as we have already shown, and "la- 
bored in the gospel." But although the Word of God 
allows and teaches a perfect equality of men and women 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH. 265 

in spiritual things, yet in the church local conditions and 
adverse public sentiment may sometimes interfere for 
the time being with the possession of these liberties. "He 
that winneth souls is wise." 

WORK OF THE CHURCH. 

The work of the church of God is twofold: 1. To 
care for and perpetuate itself; 2. To evangelize the 
world. It can prosper only as it keeps this twofold mis- 
sion in view. A congregation that becomes self -centered, 
that cares for nothing but local prosperity, is almost 
sure to decline spiritually, and misses its mission of as- 
sisting in carrying the gospel to a lost world. Missionary 
work was prominen^ in the apostolic church, and was 
steadfastly pursued in obedience to Christ's command: 
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every 
creature" (Mark 16: 15). But the accomplishing of this 
great work required the sacrifice of men and of means. A 
noble army of consecrated men and women who "loved 
not their lives unto the death" went forth to struggle 
against the powers infernal and win the triumphs of the 
cross. The churches of God poured out their money in 
order to meet the demands of the hour, even going so 
far in some cases, as at Jerusalem, to sell all their prop- 
erty and devote it to the interests of the cause of God. 

The same thing is needed today. The work of God 
needs men and women who are consecrated to evangelize 
the world, even at the cost of personal comforts and ad- 
vantages; and the church of God must awaken to the 
fact that giving of means for the support of God's work 
is both their privilege and their duty, and that it must be 



266 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

done. "Even so hath the Lord ordained that they which 
preach the gospel should live of the gospel" (1 Cor. 9: 
14). Those who minister to the people in "spiritual 
things" must receive the benefit of the people's "carnal 
things" (verse 11). The work demands this; God de- 
mands it; and all the pure and holy in heart will say 
amen to the will of God. 

The present conditions and work of the church will 
be considered more fully, however, in Chapter XIX. 
My special object in the present chapter has been to set 
forth what the apostolic church was, as revealed in the 
New Testament. The subject of the Ordinances of the 
Church will be considered in the following three chapters. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

BAPTISM. 

The observance of ordinances in the New Testament 
church rests upon the last commission Christ gave to 
his apostles: "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, 
baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the 
Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to observe all 
things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I 
am with you alway, even unto the end of the world" 
(Matt. 28: 19, 20). In this text we find ordinances ex- 
pressly commanded, and their observance is to be per- 
petuated "unto the end of the world" 

Some religious teachers oppose the observance of all 
ordinances, claiming, through a misapplication of Col. 
2 : 4, that these were abolished at the death of Christ. 
But the text thus misapplied clearly shows that the 
abolished ordinances were those which belonged to the 
Mosaic law, and they are stated to be meats, drinks, holi- 
days, new moons, and sabbaths (verses 16, 17). These 
were the "carnal ordinances, imposed upon them until 
the time of reformation" (Heb. 9:10). "But Christ 
being come" (verse 11), the reformation was brought in; 
the Mosaic institutions were antityped and thus abol- 
ished, through his death; and the New Testament house, 
or church, of God, with its ordinances and institutions, 
succeeded. 

This commission authorizing ministers to go and bap- 
tize was given after the death of Christ, and was con- 



268 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

sistently obeyed by the apostles afterwards, as the book 
of Acts abundantly shows. Some have foolishly affirmed 
that Paul did not believe in the ordinances, and therefore 
was quite indifferent to the subject at Corinth (see 1 
Cor. 1: 13-17); and that he baptized Crispus and Gaius 
and the household of Stephanus merely because they re- 
quired it of him. But the inspired record shows that 
when Paul raised up this congregation "many of the 
Corinthians hearing, believed, and were baptized" (Acts 
18:8). Now, if Paul himself did not do much of this 
baptizing, he had others do it, which shows his attitude 
toward the subject. Furthermore, he wrote to this same 
congregation, "I have received of the Lord that which I 
also delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same 
night in which he was betrayed took bread," etc., refer- 
ring to the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, as the con- 
text shows (1 Cor. 11:23). Paul was not an antiordi- 
nance preacher. 

It must also be borne in mind that Paul did not receive 
the gospel from those who were apostles before him, but 
received it by direct revelation from God, after the cru- 
cifixion and resurrection of Christ. Here are his own 
words: "I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which 
was preached of me was not after man. For I neither 
received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the 
revelation of Jesus Christ." When God "called me by 
his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach 
him among the heathen, immediately I conferred not 
with flesh and blood: neither went I up to Jerusalem to 
them which were apostles before me" (Gal. 1:11, 12, 
15-17). Where, then, did Paul get his authority to bap- 



BAPTISM. 269 

tize, institute the Lord's supper, etc.? Not from the 
apostles, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ — "for / 
have received of the Lord that which also I delivered 
unto you" (1 Cor. 11:23) This proves positively that 
these ordinances were not abolished at the cross, for the 
apostle was not even converted at the time of the cruci- 
fixion. Furthermore, the ordinances were not intended 
only for the Jews, because they loved ordinances so well, 
for the special commission of Paul was to preach among 
'the Gentiles (Acts 26: 15-18). 

A BELIEVER'S BAPTISM. 

The last commission of Christ, as given by Mark, is: 
"And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and 
preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth 
and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not 
shall be damned" (Mark 16:15, 16). This scripture 
clearly limits the subjects of baptism to those who are 
capable of hearing and believing the gospel; and this 
standard was invariably maintained by the apostles in 
their ministry. For example, we read concerning the 
multitude who received the word of God at Samaria, 
"And when they believed Philip preaching the things 
concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus 
Christ, they were baptized, both men and women" (Acts 
8: 12), No children were baptized, but only persons 
who believed — "men and women." 

The entire practise of giving a so-called baptism to 
young children originated in an apostate church and is 
positive heresy. It is nowhere taught in the Bible, either 
by a single text or by a single example. Nor is infant 



270 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

baptism found in any other book outside of the Bible 
until near the close of the second century, and then it 
was introduced as a result of two other errors that were 
being taught: 1. That infants are totally depraved and 
therefore guilty and lost; 2. That baptism itself regen- 
erates from sin. These two false doctrines believed, the 
baptism of infants naturally followed, as the only means 
of removing their depravity and preventing their going 
to hell in case of death. 

There is no valid reason, either in the Bible or outside 
of it, for the observance of this infant rite. The state- 
ment often urged, that the apostles must have baptized 
infants, because they sometimes baptized households, has 
no bearing on the subject; for there is no proof in a 
single instance that there were infants in these house- 
holds. Furthermore, in most cases, the context itself shows 
that believers only were baptized. For examples, see the 
records concerning the household of Cornelius (Acts 10) 
and the household of the jailer (Acts 16:31-34). Bap- 
tism is "the answer of a good conscience toward God" 
(1 Pet. 3:21), but infants have no conscience whatever. 

If one ordinance of the church is applicable to infants, 
why not all of the ordinances? The Scriptures no more 
teach infant baptism than they teach infant communion. 
Some of the Eastern churches, such as the Greek, Syrian, 
and Armenian, do give communion to the infants that are 
baptized (?) by them. The Armenian Church also prac- 
tises the ordinance of feet-washing, after a certain fash- 
ion, once each year, on which occasion the priest who per- 
forms the mass selects twelve boys and goes through a 
form of washing the right foot of each. But the Arme- 



BAPTISM. 271 

nians are inconsistent in that they exclude the infants 
from this. 

Nor does this rite of infant baptism decrease in any 
sense the parental obligation to endeavor to "bring them 
up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." No 
good can possibly come to infants by this senseless rite; 
on the contrary an incalculable amount of harm results. 
One writer urges infant baptism in order that the chil- 
dren "should never be allowed to believe that they were 
naturally aliens from the household of faith." This is 
the very harm and deception that comes through infant 
baptism; for at this very day millions who were bap- 
tized (?) in infancy believing that they have always been 
the children of God, though they have never been "born 
again," and are on the road to hell. The entire so-called 
Christian East — Papal, Greek, Gregorian, Coptic, Ab- 
yssinian and others — is cursed by this delusion; while 
many forms of Protestantism have borrowed it from the 
great church apostate and are perpetuating it in the 
West. 

When people grow up in sin believing that they are 
Christians because of a so-called baptism in infancy, it 
is almost impossible to convince them that they are not 
Christians at all; yet they must understand this truth 
before they can ever be definitely converted to God. I 
assert without hesitation, in the fear of God, that it is 
my firm conviction that no other false doctrine ever 
introduced under the name of Christianity has been the 
means of sending such a great number of people to hell 
as this one delusion — infant baptism. Not that the so- 
called act of baptism itself is so harmful, but it is the ac- 



272 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

companying belief that such candidates are Christians 
from their infancy. This belief is especially strong in 
the East, where all baptized people (irrespective of 
moral character) are called Christians; while those who 
have not had the rite are, by the so-called Christians, 
generally termed heathen. The doctrine of Christ is 
that "except a man be born again he can not see the 
kingdom of God" (John 3:3). "He that believeth and 
is baptized shall be saved." 

I wish it were in my power to arouse the millions who 
are sleeping under the delusion that they were really 
baptized when they were babes and are therefore Chris- 
tians. Unless such become awakened, "believe" the gos- 
pel and are saved thereby, and then are "baptized both 
men and women" (Acts 8: 12), they will all be lost for- 
ever. 

CONDITIONED ON REPENTANCE. 

"In those days came John the baptist preaching .... 
and saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at 

hand Then went out to him Jerusalem, and all 

Judea, and all the region round about Jordan, and were 
baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins" (Matt. 
3: 1-6). 

Not only did John teach that the people should repent 
and then be baptized, but he actually required repent- 
ance of them, refusing to baptize them if they did not 
repent. "And when he saw many of the Pharisees and 
Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O 
generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from 
the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits meet 



BAPTISM. 273 

for repentance" (verses 7, 8). We read in another 
place that "the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the coun- 
sel of God against themselves, being not baptized of 
him" (Luke 7:30). Because of their unwillingness to 
meet the required conditions for baptism, it is said that 
they "rejected the counsel of God." And so it is with 
all antiordinance people; by rejecting Bible baptism 
they are rejecting God's Word. 

In his Pentecostal sermon Peter taught the same truth 
concerning the necessity of repentance first and baptism 
afterwards : "Repent, and be baptized every one of you" 
(Acts 2: 38). Unless the heart is brought into the right 
attitude through repentance, the simple act of baptism 
amounts to nothing, even though performed in the Bible 
manner and by a true minister of God. Simon, the 
sorcerer at Samaria, was baptized with the other believ- 
ers; yet when Peter and John came down the unregen- 
erate condition of the man's heart was revealed. His 
baptism in water, even though performed by Philip, a 
man "filled with the Holy Ghost," did not take away 
from his heart the love of preeminence, which had pos- 
sessed him in the past. Peter said to him plainly, "Thou 
hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is 
not right in the sight of God" (Acts 8: 21). 

IS A BURIAL. 

The mode of baptism is a subject that has been much 
controverted by theologians. But the Word of God is 
very plain on this subject; and a few Scripturial con- 
siderations will be sufficient to show the humble follower 
of Christ that immersion is the Bible mode of baptism. 



274 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

In fact, almost without exception theologians admit the 
validity of immersion; the chief controversy has arisen 
over the effort on the part of many to prove that sprink- 
ling or pouring also is valid. 

All scholars admit "immersion" to be the plain English 
equivalent of the Greek word baptizo. "Sprinkle" and 
"pour" are not equivalent, as the lexicons testify. There 
are three words in the Greek language that are equiva- 
lent respectively to the three English words "immerse," 
"sprinkle," and "pour." Now, whenever the Bible 
speaks of baptism as a literal Christian rite, it always 
employs the Greek word that is the equivalent of the 
English word "immerse." If the Bible writers, using 
Greek, desired to convey the idea of "pour," why did 
they not use the Greek word that signifies "pour," in- 
stead of the word that signifies "immerse"? or use a word 
for "sprinkle" if they meant "sprinkle"? The reason is 
clear to all fair-minded men : they said what they meant, 
and, I may add, meant what they said. 

This distinction is so clear that wherever the literal 
Christian rite is spoken of one can substitute the word 
"immerse" without in any sense changing the meaning; 
whereas in many cases if we can substitute the word 
"sprinkle" or "pour," the passage is made ridiculous. 
There is no mention of sprinkling or pouring for bap- 
tism during the first two centuries, when it was intro- 
duced in case of sickness and was not regarded as regular. 
Furthermore, all the facts and circumstances concerning 
baptism, recorded in the New Testament, harmonize 
with the doctrine of immersion, but not on any other 
supposition. 



BAPTISM. 275 

The great historians, as Neander, Mosheim, Wall, 
Weiss, Ewald, Geikie, Eidersheimer, De Pressense, 
Conybeare, Stanley, Schaff, and many others, all testify 
that immersion was the primitive practise. This was 
also affirmed by the great reformers, as Luther, Calvin, 
Wesley, and others. 

A few years ago a noted American minister, whose 
name is familiar in almost every household and who be- 
longed to a church that always sprinkles for baptism, 
made a trip to the Holy Land, where he had his photo 
graph taken in the act of immersing a candidate in the 
river Jordan. Why was this? Because he knew, as all 
well-informed men know, that immersion was the primi- 
tive practise. It is probably because the act of immer- 
sion is a little inconvenient, and rather humiliating to 
vanity and pride, that such great efforts are made to 
substitute something else. 

Baptism is a ceremonial representation of the burial 
and resurrection of our Lord; therefore only immersion 
is appropriate. In fact, the individual believer sym- 
bolically follows Christ in his death, burial, and resur- 
rection. First he dies the death to sin, is "crucified with 
Christ" (Gal. 2 : 20) ; then he is "buried with him in 
baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the 
faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from 
the dead" (Col. 2:12). Baptism thus becomes to the 
individual an outward sign of an inward work. First we 
are "circumcised with the circumcision made without 
hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh" 
(verse 11); then we are "buried with him in baptism," 
as just quoted (verse 12). 



276 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

The same idea is alluded to in that remarkable pas- 
sage in Rom. 6: 1-4: "How shall we that are dead to sin 
live any longer therein?" "Therefore we are buried 
with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was 
raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even 
so we also should walk in newness of life." 

"Buried with him." Was Christ buried in baptism? 
Yes. John was baptizing "in Jordan" (Matt. 3:6), 
"In the river of Jordan" (Mark 1:5). "Then cometh 
Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be baptized 

of him And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up 

straightway out of the water; and, lo, the heavens were 
opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descend- 
ing like a dove, and lighting upon him: and lo, a voice 
from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom 
I am well pleased" (Matt. 3:13-17). Jesus evidently 
went down into the Jordan in order to be baptized; for 
after his baptism, he "went up straightway out of the 
water." Here we have the highest authority for immer- 
sion in water, whieh is thus shown to be heaven's plan: 
1. Jesus himself, the Son of Gtxl, set the example. That 
of itself should be sufficient. 2. The Holy Spirit, the 
third person in the Trinity, bore witness, by appearing 
visibly in the form of a dove and lighting upon Christ. 
3. The Father Himself declared in audible tomes, "I AM 
WELL PLEASED/' 

Reader, if you desire Bible baptism, follow the ex- 
ample of the Son of God, and you will receive a witness 
of the Spirit; while the Father himself, speaking to your 
heart, will say, "I am well pleased." 

This is the way baptism was administered in the apos- 



BAPTISM. 277 

tolic church. In the eighth chapter of Acts we read 
about Philip's meeting a certain eunuch and holding a 
conversation with him concerning the Scripture. "And 
as they went on their way, they came unto a certain 
water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth 
hinder me to be baptized? .... And he commanded the 
chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the 
water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. 
And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit 
of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw 
him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing" (verses 
36-39). This passage would be meaningless and ridicu- 
lous connected with the idea of sprinkling or pouring; 
but it is perfectly consistent with the Bible standard, for 
we are "buried with him in baptism." (Col. 2: 12). 

So in order to fulfil the Word of God perfectly and 
secure a valid baptism the candidate must observe the 
following : 

1. He must know or hear the gospel; which is usually 
through a minister (Mark 16:15). 

2. He must repent of his sins and believe the gospel, 
the doing of which will effect his salvation (Acts 3: 19; 
16:31; 2:38). 

3. He must find a minister of God that is ready to 
baptize him (Acts 8:36, 37). 

4. Preacher and candidate must go together to a place 
where there is "much water" (John 3: 23). 

5. Then they must go "down both into the water" 
(Acts 8:38), thus following the example of Christ in 
his baptism (Matt. 3:16). 

6. Then he must be "buried with Him in baptism." 



278 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

7. Both preacher and candidate can then "come up out 
of the water" (Acts 8:39). 

8. Then the candidate, having obeyed the Word and 
followed his Lord, can go "on his way rejoicing" (Acts 
8:39). 

Reader, have you met Bible conditions and been bap- 
tized in this way? If not, you have not been baptized 
at all; for nothing short of this constitutes a valid bap- 
tism. 

Some humble ministers of Christ may not be able to 
follow the learned scholars into the Greek language in 
order to understand all about the meaning of words; but 
after reading the plain accounts of how baptism was per- 
formed by the apostles, they can be satisfied to do as 
they did. 

A PURIFYING ORDINANCE. 
To the Jewish mind baptism appealed very strongly 
as a purifying ordinance. They had long been accus- 
tomed to "divers washings" and ablutions of a ceremonial 
nature, and on this account were led to regard baptism in 
a similar light. Therefore when John came baptizing 
in Enon near Salim, presenting a new cleansing cere- 
mony, straightway "there arose a question between some 
of John's disciples and the Jews about purifying" (John 
3:23-25). 

The apostles also presented the subject in the light of 
a purifying ordinance. Thus, Peter said to the penitent 
Jews, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the 
name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins" (Acts 2 : 
38). The language clearly implies that baptism, as well 



BAPTISM. 279 

as repentance, is for the remission of sins. So also Ana- 
nias said to Saul, "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and 
be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name 
of the Lord" (Acts 22:16). 

This appeared very clear and natural from the Jewish 
standpoint, for they were accustomed to the idea of 
double cleansing — actual and ceremonial. By consult- 
ing Lev. 14:2-7, where the law concerning the cleans- 
ing of the leper is given, the reader will see that the 
actual healing of the leper is one thing and that his 
ceremonial "cleansing" is another thing. "The priest 
shall look, and, behold, if the plague of leprosy be 

healed Then shall the priest command to take for 

him that is to be cleansed two birds alive and clean," etc. 
(verses 3, 4). This double cleansing was recognized by 
Christ; for when he granted a leper perfect healing (the 
actual work), he said to him, "Go thy way, show thyself 
to the priest, and offer the [ceremonial] gift that Moses 
commanded, for a testimony unto them" (Matt. 8: 1-4). 
Now, baptism as a purifying ordinance does not 
cleanse the soul from sin actually, but ceremonially, be- 
ing "a testimony unto them" — the people; the outward 
sign of an inward work of grace. We are "dead to sin," 
"therefore buried with him by baptism" (Rom. 6:2, 4). 
The actual cleansing of the soul from sinful elements can 
not be effected by literal water, but it is "the blood of 
Christ" that is able to "purge your conscience from dead 
works to serve the living God" (Heb. 9: 14). Yea, he 
hath washed us from our sins in his own blood" (Rev. 

1:5). "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us 

from all sin" (1 John 1:7). 



280 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Peter also shows the figurative nature of baptismal 
cleansing or salvation. He says : "The long-suffering of 
God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a 
preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved 
by water. The like figure whereunto baptism doth also 
now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the 
flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), 
by the resurrection of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 3:20, 21). 
Baptism is not our actual salvation, but our figurative 
one; it is not the actual "putting away of the filth of the 
flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God." 
How do we obtain this good conscience? Answer: "The 
blood of Christ .... purifies our conscience" (Heb. 
9: 14). Therefore we have blood-cleansing first, and 
ceremonial, or water-, cleansing afterwards, as the "an- 
swer of a good conscience toward God." 

The manner in which Noah and his family were 
"saved by water" represents the manner in which "bap- 
tism doth also now save us." But it was necessary for 
Noah's household to get into the ark FIRST, before 
they were ready for that water-salvation. So also we 
must first get into the antitypical ark, CHRIST, before 
we arc ready for the ceremonial salvation of water-bap- 
tism. In the days of Noah what happened to those 
who got in the water first? And what will be the re- 
sult if we now seek water-baptism before we find safety 
in Christ? 

SINGLE IMMERSION. 

From the formula given by Jesus — "Go ye therefore 
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of 
the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost." 



BAPTISM. 281 

(Matt. 28:19), some have inferred that a threefold 
action is necessary; one immersion in the name of the 
Father, one in the name of the Son, and one in the 
name of the Holy Ghost. But in the Acts of the Apos- 
tles this threefold formula is never employed: the people 
were simply baptized "in the name of Jesus Christ," 
or "in the name of the Lord Jesus" (Acts 2:38; 10: 
48; 8: 16; 19:5), which shows that the apostles did not 
understand that it was necessary to perform a triple 
action. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one; 
therefore one action is sufficient. 

Furthermore, the object and design of baptism pre- 
cludes the idea of repetition. It is the outwcird sign 
of an inward work; it represents our salvation from 
sin. Now, this salvation is represented as the work 
of God ( 2 Tim. 1 : 8, 9), as the work of Christ (Matt. 
1:21), and as the work of the Holy Spirit (John 3: 
5) ; yet it is a single act, and therefore can be appro- 
priately represented only by a single Immersion; and 
this single immersion is in the threefold name just as 
truly as the single conversion is the work of the divine 
Trinity. If we were converted three times, once by each 
person of the Trinity, then trine immersion in three 
separate names would properly represent it. So also 
the symbolic reference baptism bears to the burial and 
resurrection of Christ necessitates the single action. 
Christ was buried once and raised once; and we are 
"buried with him [once] in baptism, wherein also we 
are risen [once] with him"; yea, we arise to "walk in 
newness of life." 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE LORD'S SUPPER. 

The New Testament clearly teaches the observance 
of an ordinance termed "the Lord's supper." This 
expression, however, is used only once: "When ye come 
together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the 
Lord's supper" (1 Cor. 11:20). As there has been 
considerable misunderstanding in certain respects re- 
garding this ordinance, I shall refer to what the Bible 
really teaches concerning it. First of all, it is 

NOT A REGULAR MEAL. 

The Corinthian church, it appears, had a misunder- 
standing of this subject, and in Paul's absence they 
either substituted something else for the Lord's Supper 
or else added something to the proper rite; therefore 
Paul wrote to them for the purpose of correcting the 
matter. This is shown by the following Scripture: 
"When ye are come together therefore in one place, 
this is not to eat the Lord's supper.' For in eating 
every one taketh before other his own supper: and one 
is hungry, and another is drunken. What? have ye not 
houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church 
of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I 
say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I praise you 
not" (1 Cor. 11:20-22). 

They were coming together for a full meal, very 
much the same as the idolatrous feasts of the heathen 
in that city, and their excesses on these occasions were 



284 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

a reproach to the church of God. Paul severely con- 
demned them for this practise; declared that their com- 
ing together for a full meal, or feast, was NOT "the 
Lord's supper/' but was only their "own supper"; that 
the proper place for eating their own supper was in 
their own houses, not in the church of God. "If any 
man hunger," he wrote, "let him eat at home; that ye 
come not together unto condemnation" (verse 34). 
Those sects of the present day who meet together for 
the purpose of eating a full meal, calling it the Lord's 
Supper, are doing the very thing that the apostle con- 
demned. They refuse to obey his word and "eat at 
home," and thus they "despise the church of God" by 
eating their "own supper" in the church; and "this is 
not the Lord's supper." 

A COMMEMORATIVE INSTITUTION. 
After Paul had condemned the Corinthian church 
for doing what he had not authorized, in thus having 
3 public church-meal, and had denied that such was the 
Lord's Supper, he proceeded to show what the true 
Lord's Supper really is. "For I have received of the 
Lord that which also I delivered unto you. That the 
Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed 
took bread: and when he had given thanks, he break it, 
and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken 
for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same 
manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, say- 
ing, This cup is the New Testament in my blood: this 
do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. 
For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 285 

ye do show the Lord's death till he come" (verse 23-26). 

So, according to the apostle, the Lord's Supper is 
the eating of the bread and the drinking of the cup, 
after the example set by Christ. Therefore the Lord's 
Supper and the communion are the same. "The cup 
of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of 
the blood of Christ? The bread which he break, is 
it not the communion of the body of Christ?" (1 Cor. 
10: 16). Hence this ordinance is properly termed either 
the Lord's Supper or communion. 

Now, as Paul states, this ordinance was instituted 
by Christ himself. "And as they were eating, Christ 
took bread, and blessed it, and break it, and gave to 
the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And 
he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave to them, 
saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is my blood of the 
New Testament, which is shed for many for the re- 
mission of sins" (Matt. 26: 26-28). 

Following the example and commandment of Christ, 
the apostolic church observed the ordinance. As we 
have seen, Paul delivered it to the Corinthians in the 
proper manner and disclaimed all responsibility for 
their perversion of it. It was observed in the church at 
Troas, for we read, "And upon the first day of the week, 
when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul 
preached unto them" (Acts 20:7). This clearly re- 
fers to the ordinance, as nearly all commentators agree. 
The language, applied as it is to a religious gathering, 
implies the identity of that gathering with the com- 
munion service. "The bread which we break, is it not 
the communion of the body of Christ?" (1 Cor. 10: 16). 



286 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"The Lord Jesus the same night in which he was be- 
trayed took bread; and when he had given thanks, he 
break it" (1 Cor. 11:23, 24). The testimony of the 
earliest church fathers is to the effect that this ordinance 
was observed regularly by all Christians; and the ob- 
servance has continued among true Christians until 
the present day. 

ITS DESIGN. 

The communion service has an object; it is intended 
to teach something; for Christ would not establish an 
ordinance in his church without a distinct purpose in 
view. Much of the original design, however, has evi- 
dently been lost or covered up by the accumulation of 
human rubbish in the form of theological opinions and 
false notions. Thus, I might refer to the Roman 
Catholic doctrine — that the bread and the wine are, 
at the time of consecration, converted into the actual 
body and blood of Christ; or to the doctrine of certain 
Protestant sects concerning the real presence of Christ 
in the eucharist; or to the doctrine of nearly all sects — 
that in some mysterious manner Christ attaches himself 
to the consecrated elements, so that the communicants 
receive directly some special "grace" thereby, — some 
even going so far as to state their sins are forgiven at 
the moment when they partake of the holy elements. 
But my purpose is not to show what the Roman Catholic 
sect teaches, nor what the Greek church teaches, nor 
what Protestant sects teach and believe; it is to show 
WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. All these so-called 
"exalted ideas," these theories which practically make 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 287 

the communion a substitute for the Savior himself or 
a substitute for the definite experience of salvation 
accompanied by a life of perfect holiness — all are with- 
out foundation in the Word of God. "Add thou not 
unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found 
a liar" (Prov. 30:6). 

The special design of this ordinance is shown in the 
words of Christ when commanding its observance: 
"This do in remembrance of me" (Luke 22: 19). If the 
ordinance is "in remembrance" of Christ, as stated, then 
it is not actually Christ himself (though it symbolically 
represents him in his atonement), but is a commemo- 
rative institution by which the sufferings of Christ for 
our sins are brought vividly before the mind, thus 
bringing us into closer fellowship with his sufferings 
and death. "For as oft as ye eat this bread, and drink 
this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come" (1 
Cor. 11: 26). In observing it, we do not obtain spiritual 
life, but we "show the Lord's death." 

"Born away in mind and spirit 

To the solemn, awful scene 
Of mount Calvary's sacred summit, 

Where we see the crimson stream 
Flowing from the side of Jesus, 

That has washed us snowy white; 
Here we seem in awe to compass 

Bound the reeking cross tonight. 

"Round thy table here we gather 

And commune, dear Lord, with thee, 
In the consecrated emblems, 

Lo! thy precious blood we see- 
See thy dear atoning passion 

And our holy unity. 
Oh! we'll keep thy blest memorial, 

Till anew we sup with thee." 



288 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink 
this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the 
body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine 
himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of 
that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, 
eateth and drinketh damnation unto himself, not dis- 
cerning the Lord's body" (1 Cor. 11:27-29). People 
who do not discern the Lord's body — his sacrificial 
body — in its true character as a sin-offering, and who are 
not thereby actually redeemed from their sins, are un- 
worthy to partake of this ordinance which "shows the 
Lord's death"; therefore if they "eat this bread and 
drink this cup," they are "guilty of the body and blood 
of the Lord" — eat and drink damnation to themselves. 
Oh, how many sinning professors are, every week, 
"guilty of the body and blood of the Lord" ! "Let a 
man examine himself." Those who are truly saved, 
and such only, have a right to this sacred commemo- 
rative ordinance of the house of God. Let all others 
beware of attempting to thrust themselves in upon its 
sacredness, and thus "despise the church of God" and 
bring it into disgrace by partaking unworthily. 

While the Lord's Supper is commemorative of the 
sufferings and death of our Lord, representing sym- 
bolically his crucified body, it also has another important 
signification: it represents the collective and unified 
body of believers in Christ. "The cup of blessing which 
we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? 
The bread which we break, is it not the communion of 
the body of Christ? For we [saved believers] being 



THE LORD'S SUPPER. 889 

many are one bread, and one body: for we are all par- 
takers of that one bread" (1 Cor. 10: 16, 17). 

The loaf of bread used in the communion service, in 
its unbroken state represents very beautifully the one 
body of saved believers. The flour out of which it was 
made was ground from many kernels of wheat, which 
possibly were grown in many separate fields; yet these 
grains have all been brought together and by a certain 
process have been unified in one loaf: even their nature 
has been changed by the process of baking. So also 
we as individuals are many, and we have been widely 
separated; yet through Christ we have been "perfectly 
joined together" by his Holy Spirit, our natures have 
been changed from sin to holiness, and we are indeed 
"all one in Christ Jesus." As a unified body in Christ, 
the one loaf perfectly represents us. So when in com- 
munion service among God's true saints the consecrated 
loaf in its undivided state is presented, it stands as the 
representation of our unity in the body of Jesus Christ 
— his church. From this Scriptural fact it will be seen 
that the sects, even at their best, can never represent, 
through their communion services, more than one-half 
of the New Testament ordinances of the Lord's Sup- 
per; for the unity of God's church in one body is not 
exhibited in sects. But in the apostolic church the 
ordinance was perfect, for it represented both the sacri- 
ficial body of Christ and the perfect unity of all be- 
lievers in him. 



290 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ITS PERPETUITY. 

That the ordinance of the Lord's Supper was intended 
to be observed throughout the Christian dispensation is 
made clear by the Scriptures themselves. We have 
already seen that it was observed in the apostolic church. 
Now, the commission of Christ was that his ministers 
should go and "teach all nations." Teach them what? 
"Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have 
commanded you" (Matt. 28: 19, 20). Did he command 
this observance? "This DO in remembrance of me" 
(Luke 22: 19). How long was this to continue? "Teach- 
ing them to observe all things whatsoever I have com- 
manded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto 
the end of the world/* 

This is clear. So long as the gospel is to be preached, 
just so long the people are to observe all things that 
Christ commanded — "even unto the end of the world." 
So also we read in another place, "For as often as ye 
eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's 
death till he come" (1 Cor. 11:26). Then, it is to be 
observed by the true followers of Christ in all periods 
of the Christian dispensation, yea, "till he comes" again. 
Amen. 



CHAPTER XV. 

FEET-WASHING. 

Feet-washing as an ordinance is not generally ob- 
served by professing Christians; in fact, by many it is 
spurned, misrepresented, and ridiculed as is no other 
saying of Christ recorded in the gospel history. Not- 
withstanding the fact that Christ said we "should" do 
it, that we "ought to wash one another's feet," they never 
observe it, either as a public ordinance or as a private 
duty. If those who reject feet- washing as a church 
ordinance were faithfully observing it as a private 
duty, their attitude would appear less inconsistent; 
but not to observe it in any form shows a disposition 
to reject the plain word of Christ. This is a serious 
matter, one that is not to be lightly turned aside or 
laughed out of the Bible. "He that is of God heareth 
God's words." "His commandments are not grievous." 
"Ye therefore hear them not because ye are not of God" 
(John 8:47). "If a man love me, he will keep my 
words" (John 14:23). "Ye believe not, because ye are 
not of my sheep .... my sheep hear my voice, and I 
know them, and they follow me" (John 10:26, 27). 
Jesus says, "Observe all things whatsoever I have com- 
manded you" (Matt. 28:20). Now, if it can be shown 
that feet-washing was established as an ordinance, then 
we must "observe" it as an ordinance. We will appeal 
to the Word of God. 

"And supper being ended, the devil having now put 
into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray 



292 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

him; Jesus knowing that the Father had given all 
things into his hands, and that he was come from God, 
and went to God; he riseth from supper, and laid aside 
his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 
After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to 
wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the 
towel wherewith he was girded. Then cometh he to 
Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou 
wash my feet? Jesus answered and said unto him, 
What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know 
hereafter. Then Peter said unto him, Thou shalt never 
wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, 
thou hast no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, 
Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my 
head. Jesus saith unto him, He that is washed needeth 
not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and 
ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should be- 
tray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So 
after he had washed their feet, and had taken his gar- 
ments, and was set down again, he said unto them, 
Know ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master 
and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, 
your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also 
ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given 
you an example, that ye should do as I have done to 
you. Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not 
greater than his Lord; neither he that is sent greater 
than he that sent him. If ye know these things, happy 
are ye if ye do them" (John 13: 2-17). 



FEET-WASHING. 293 

EXPRESSLY COMMANDED. 

Before proceeding to show why this is an ordinance 
of the church, we will observe that it is here expressly 
commanded; and this fact shows at the very least that 
it must be practised in some form. "If I then, your 
Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought 
to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an 
example, that ye should do as I have done to you .... 
If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them" 
(verses 14, 15, 17). 

Many attempt to evade this part of the Word by say- 
ing that it does not assert that we must do it, but merely 
that we should or ought. Now, the New Testament 
law of liberty does not consist of "thou shalt," as did 
the Mosaic law, but is, instead, a law of love, and Jesus 
says, "If a man love me, he will keep my words" (John 
14s: 23). The true, humble-hearted Christian needs no 
further coercion than the simple knowledge that he 
"ought" to do a thing, yea, "should" do it. These are 
the strongest words in our language expressing moral 
obligation or duty, as every one must admit. Their 
true application and force is admitted in every other 
case where they are employed; for example, "Men 
ought always to pray" (Luke 18:1). "We ought to 
obey God" (Acts 5:29). "So ought men to love their 
wives as their own body" (Eph. 5:28). "We ought 
also to love one another" (1 John 4: 11). "Ye also 
ought to wash one another's feet" (John 13: 14). Now, 
does this word "ought" mean the same in the last verse 
as it does in all the others, or just the reverse? 

"And this is his commandment that we should believe 



294 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one an- 
other" (1 John 3:23). "Ye should do as I have done 
to you/' that is, "wash one another's feet" (John 13: 
15). The commandment is clearly stated: "Wash one 
another' s feet." Men may reject these words of Christ; 
they may try to explain them away; they may substi- 
tute something else for this ordinance or call it non- 
essential: but still the scripture remains to mock all 
their efforts: "Ye also ought to wash one another's feet"; 
"do as I have done to you." "He thnt saith, I know him, 
and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the 
truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). 

A CHURCH ORDINANCE. 

The reasons why the act described in John 13:2-17 
is to be regarded as a church ordinance is so well set 
forth by H. M. Riggle in his book "Christian Baptism, 
the Lord's Supper, and Feet- Washing"* that I will simply 
quote, at some length, his own words: 

"We have here every essential to an ordinance — 

"1. The achnojvledged authority of him who de- 
livered it, our 'Master and Lord.' 

"2. His example. After washing their feet he said 
to them, 'I have given you an example.' Example means 
model, pattern, or copy. This is so simple and plain 
that we can not mistake it. He washed the disciples' 
feet with literal water and wiped them with a literal 
towel. This is the copy, pattern, or model that we are 
to follow. 



•Published by Gospel Trumpet Co., Anderson, Ind. Price, 

$1.00. 



FEET-WASHING. 295 

"3. His practise. He first did the thing himself. That 
which he did/ was something which had never been 
practised before as he here practised it. 

"4. Jesus gave this observance a religious character. 
He made it a test of fellowship between him and a be- 
loved apostle. If Peter had continued his refusal to 
let Jesus wash his (Peter's) feet, he would have cut 
himself off from fellowship with his Master. 'If I wash 
thee not, thou hast no part with me/ 

"5. An observance commanded. While Christ him- 
self was washing his disciples' feet, they did not under- 
stand the nature and the purpose of the practise (verse 
7). But he told them that they should understand it 
later (verse 7). So after washing their feet, he asked 
them, 'Know ye what I have done to you?' Do you 
understand the purpose for which I have washed your 
feet? Then he proceeds at once to tell them. 'If I then, 
your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also 
ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an 
example, that ye should do as I have done to you . . . . 
If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.' 
In washing your feet, I have given you an example, 
model, pattern, or copy; and now I enjoin upon you 
to 'wash one another's feet.' 

"6. The good to be derived from the observance not 
a literal benefit, but a spiritual blessing. 'Happy are 
ye if ye do them.' 

"The six foregoing facts, when carefully considered, 
prove beyond question that feet-washing as practised 
by Christ is a rite, or ordinance, of the New Testament. 
If language is of any use at all, the words of Christ 



296 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

clearly show that feet-washing is a thing to be observed 
by Christians. The fact that he called it an example 
proves that he intended it for imitation. It rests upon 
the same foundation with baptism and the Lord's Supper. 
All three are established by the precept and the ex- 
ample of the Savior. All three were instituted from 
elements and practises common to all. From time im- 
memorial it has been the custom of all cleanly people 
to bathe their bodies frequently in water. In olden 
times people wore loose garments, and consequently 
it was necessary to bathe their bodies in water very 
often. This was usually done by going down into pools 
or streams and dipping themselves in the water. Now, 
as far as mode is concerned, there was some similarity 
between this custom and baptism. But who will say 
that baptism is simply the perpetuating of this custom? 
No one. When Jesus instituted Christian baptism, he 
took the element water and a practise common to all, 
and connected his word with them, thus instituting one 
of the sacred rites of the gospel. In this ordinance these 
elements are elevated to a place where, in their appli- 
cation, they assume a religious character. The bene- 
fits derived and the lessons taught are conducive to our 
spiritual welfare. 

"The same is true of the Lord's Supper. It has been 
customary, as far as we know, for people of all lands 
to eat supper. Bread and the fruit of the vine have 
always been considered common articles of food. In 
instituting the sacred ordinance of the communion sup- 
per, Jesus did not go out of the ordinary. He selected 



FEET-WASHING. S$7 

common articles of food. With tkese he connected his 
word and established a divine ordinance. Although he 
selected common articles of food, he elevated the prac- 
tise above the eating of a common meal. He first broke 
bread himself, and gave to his disciples of the bread and 
of the cup, then commanded them thus: 'This do in re- 
membrance of me.' What he did was 'an observance 
commanded' — an ordinance. The lesson that it teaches, 
gives to the observance a religious character. 

"Now, what is true of the two rites mentioned above 
is also true of feet-washing. Among all people of all 
nations, in all ages, it has been customary to wash feet 
for cleanliness; at least, this has been the custom of all 
cleanly people. This was true in ancient times, and it 
is true yet today. As with baptism and the Lord's 
Supper, Jesus selected something common to all — wash- 
ing feet with literal water — connected his word with 
the same, washed his disciples' feet, and then com- 
manded them to 'wash one another's feet.' Thus he 
elevated it above the common custom into a religious 
rite. In the same prepared room and on the same night 
in which he instituted the communion supper, he washed 
his disciples' feet and then commanded them to wash 
one another's feet. Speaking of both these rites, he said, 
'Happy are ye if ye do them/ Jesus gave to feet- 
washing a religious character. By his precept and ex- 
ample he exalted it to the place of a religious rite, or 
ordinance, in the church. 

"Note carefully the analogy. Christ set before us 
the ordinance of baptism by both precept and example. 
He first instituted and practised it himself (John 3: 



298 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

22, 26-30; 4:1); then he commanded the church to 
observe it (Matt. 28:19, 20). He did the same with 
the communion supper. He first instituted and observed 
it himself (Matt. 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25); then 
he commanded the church to observe it (Luke 22:19, 
20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26). The same thing is true of feet- 
washing. He first instituted and performed it himself 
(John 13:2-7); then he commanded the church to 
practise it (John 13:12-16; Matt. 28:20). In bap- 
tism Jesus did not invent a mode entirely different from 
the common custom of the people, nor select an uncom- 
mon element. This is also true of the communion and 
of feet-washing. Literal water is used in two of these 
rites; the other consists in the eating of bread and the 
supping of wine. A religious significance is attached 
to the rite of baptism (see Mark 16: 16; 1 Pet. 3:21); 
likewise to the observance of the Lord's Supper (Luke 
22: 19; 1 Cor. 11:26-29); and the same is true of 
feet-washing (John 13:8, 9, 16, 17). Feet-washing 
rests upon the same foundation with baptism and the 
communion supper. All three are observances com- 
mended, established rites of the gospel of Christ. Web- 
ster says that an ordinance is 'an observance com- 
manded.' Then feet-washing is an ordinance. 

"Another thought. Jesus washed his disciples' feet. 
He did not wash strangers' feet; nor have we one single 
hint that previous to this time he was in the habit of 

washing anybody's feet The very fact of Peter's 

refusal, astonishment, and ignorance of the purpose 
Christ had in view (verses 6-9), proves that Christ 
had never done this before. Then, it was not a mere 



FEET-WASHING. 299 

custom with the Savior. Neither did he wash their 
feet for cleanliness; for that would have been done be- 
fore entering the house. They had already entered 
the house and had seated themselves around the table 
in the very room prepared for the occasion. In this 
room he broke the communion bread with his disciples 
and washed their feet. In this room he commanded 
them to break the bread and also commanded them to 
wash one another's feet. These commands were given 
to his disciples — yes, his disciples/' Pp. 196 — 201. 

Another reason, probably the strongest one of all, 
why feet-washing is to be regarded as a positive ordi- 
nance of the Christian church is given in Chapter XXII 
of the present work, under the subhead "New Testament 
Ceremonies/' 

OLD CUSTOM CONSIDERED. 

Again I quote from H. M. Riggle. "About all op- 
posers of feet- washing refer the people to the common 
custom of washing feet for cleanliness. They take great 
pains to show that the Jews had this custom and then 
declare that because they wore sandals it was neces- 
sary. This, dear reader, is all for effect. I very much 
doubt if any of them really believe that the feet-wash- 
ing Jesus performed in that room in Jerusalem was the 
same as the old Jewish custom. This reference to the 
common custom of feet-washing is simply to draw the 
people's attention away from the sacred rite which 
Jesus instituted. 

"The old 'sandal' theory originated in sectarian 
Babylon and became threadbare long ago; yet it is 



300 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

repeated over and over again. It would be just at 
consistent to assail the Lord's Supper on the ground 
that it was an old custom to eat supper; that bread 
and the fruit of the vine have always been common 
articles of food; and that, therefore, what Jesus did 
was only to follow the old custom of eating supper. 
The fact is, the old custom of washing feet for cleanli- 
ness has no more to do with the feet-washing performed 
and commanded by the Savior on the solemn night of 
his betrayal than the old custom of bathing for cleanli- 
ness has to do with baptism or the old custom of eat- 
ing supper has to do with the sacred Lord's Supper. 
I will submit a number of facts which clearly prove that 
there is no identity between the custom of washing feet 
and the ordinance of feet-washing. 

"1. The old custom is still the custom. By having 
one's attention called away from the ordinance that Je- 
sus instituted, as recorded in John 13, and its true char- 
acter, back to the ancient custom of washing feet, one 
is more easily duped. Thus, false teachers speak of 
it as a thing of the past — a thing that passed away 
with the wearing of sandals, which belonged only to 
Eastern and ancient people. Now, the real truth is, 
all cleanly people of all nations, ancient and modern, 
Eastern and Western, sandal-wearers and shoe-wearers, 
have washed, and do wash, their feet for cleanliness. 
It is a universal custom. 

"2. The feet-n ashing of John 13 was not this custom. 
Is it not strange that if this was the common custom, 
Christ had not been in the habit of doing it before? 
During his entire ministry, which covered a period 



FEET-WASHING. 801 

of three and one-half years, he had never before washed 
his disciples' feet. This is clearly proved by the fact 
that Peter had never seen such a thing and knew noth- 
ing about it. So, you see, that despite the assertions 
of modern teachers to the contrary, it was not a common 
custom. 

"3. The manner of the ancient custom. For the 
benefit of the reader I will quote the scriptures where 
the ancient custom is mentioned. 'Let a little water, 
I pray you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest 
yourselves under the tree' (Gen. 18:4). 'And he said, 
Behold now, my lords, turn in, I pray you, into your 
servant's house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, 
and ye shall rise up early, and go on your ways' (Gen. 
19:2). 'And the man came into the house: and he 
ungirdled his camels, and gave straw and provender 
for the camels, and water to wash his feet, and the 
men's feet that were with him' (Gen. 24: 32). 'And 
the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and gave 
them water, and they washed their feet; and he gave 
their asses provender' (Gen. 43:24). 'So he brought 
them into his house, and gave provender unto the asses: 
and they washed their feet, and did eat and drink' 
(Judges 19:21). 'And David said to Uriah, Go down 
to thy house and wash thy feet. And Uriah departed 
out of the king's house, and there followed him a mess 
of meat from the king' (2 Sam. 11:8). 'And when 
the servants of David were come to Abigail to Carmel, 
they spake unto her, saying, David sent us unto thee, 
to take thee to him to wife. And she arose, and bowed 
herself on her face to the earth, and said, Behold, let 



302 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

thine handmaid be a servant to wash the feet of the 
servants of my lord' (1 Sam. 25:40, 41). 

"You will observe that in practising the custom each 
one washed his own feet. Only one exception to this 
rule is mentioned — the case of Abigail, who offered to 
wash the feet of the servants of David. Any one can 
see at a glance that the object was one of comfort and 
cleanliness. Now, I affirm in the fear of God that the 
feet-washing mentioned in John 13 is not this custom, 
but differs from it both in manner and in design. 

"4. Feet-washing under a new aspect. In the cases 
referred to above water was brought, and the guests 
washed their own feet, or in one case the servant of the 
house offered to do it. Now, in the case of the feet- 
washing of Jesus, it was neither of these. 'The disci- 
ples were to wash one another's feet. It was neither 
the least among them that was to wash the feet of the 
others, nor the greatest. Among them there was to be no 
least and no greatest. This fact of indiscriminate service 
presents feet-washing to us under a new aspect.' Christ 
did not say to his disciples, 'When you get homes of 
your own and get all domestic affairs well settled about 
you, and some of your saved brethren come along and 
rrmain with you over night, you must wash their feet 
for their comfort and cleanliness.' Nor did he say, 
'The least of you must perform this service,' nor, 'He 
that is greatest,' etc. This is not the manner in which 
Christ gave the commandment. Without waiting to 
dispute as to who is greatest or who is least, we are 
to wash one another's feet; for we are all alike, all 
brethren together, all members of one spiritual family — 



FEET-WASHING. 303 

the family of the Lord, who set us this beautiful example. 
"5. The custom and the ordinance contrasted. 'While 
this custom is not practised as extensively as it was in 
ancient days, in many respects it is the same now as then. 
The design is the same — cleanliness — and the ancient 
people practised this custom in the same way that mod- 
ern people do; that is, each one washed his own feet 
(Gen. 18:4; 19:2; 24:32; 43:24). So in that par- 
ticular the custom has never changed; but ancient and 
modern, Eastern and Western, people, those who wore 
sandals or shoes and stockings, and those who went or 
go with bare feet, that is, all decent people of every 
age or nation that we know of, washed, and do wash, 
their feet when necessary for cleanliness or comfort 
Any Christian, sinner, or heathen will wash the feet 
of those who are not able to wash themselves. And 
thus the custom of washing feet has existed from time 
immemorial and is still going on in the world among 
saints, sinners, and heathen also, and will go on as long 
as there is a cleanly people on the earth. But while this 
is true of this custom, we still see the ordinance of feet- 
washing, instituted by the Lord recorded in St. John 
13, practised in the church of God as our Lord com- 
manded (verses 14, 15) and as St. Paul demanded (1 
Tim. 5: 10). The saints still wash one another's feet 
according to the Lord's example and teaching. And 
God is still fulfiling the promise that Jesus made to 
us. Hence we see that the custom of washing feet and 
the ordinance of feet-washing are two different things, 
as we will more clearly prove hereafter — different in 
manner, practise, and design/ 



304 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"In the custom, each one washes his own feet; in the 
ordinance, we are commanded to wash one another's 
feet. A difference in manner. In the custom, the design 
is cleanliness and comfort; in the ordinance, the design 
is to impress some spiritual lessons, to testify publicly 
to certain blessed truths. A difference in design. The 
benefit received from the custom is a literal benefit — 
cleanliness; the benefit received from the observance of 
the ordinance is a spiritual benefit. 'If ye know these 
things, happy are ye if ye do them.' A difference in the 
benefit received. People wash feet as a custom, simply 
out of necessity. Propriety suggests it. But in the 
ordinance, we wash one another's feet because Jesus, our 
Lord, set the example and commanded us to follow it. 
Modern people wash their feet as a custom of cleanli- 
ness. None of them claim that they do it in obedience to 
the instructions that Jesus gave in the thirteenth chap- 
ter of John. There is a vast difference, you see. The 
custom is practised by Christians, Mohammedans, infi- 
dels, sinners, and heathens; the ordinance is observed 
only by 'saints' (1 Tim. 5: 10). The two can not be the 
same. 

0. Positive argument that there is no identity between 
the custom and the ordinance. The Savior washed the 
disciples' feet. He did not wash his own, and they did 
not wash his. If it had been a mere matter of cleanli- 
ness, would not Christ have needed the washing as well 
as they? Although he had walked with them all day, 
not a word is said about his own feet. You see, he was 
there instituting a new rite for the church. 'If I then, 
your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also 



FEET-WASHING. 805 

ought to wash one another's feet/ There is no proof 
that they were wearing sandals at this time. It was 
rather a cold time to go bare-foot. On that very night 
Peter went to the fire and 'warmed himself (John 18: 
25). The people wore shoes as well as sandals. 

"Another thought worthy of note is this: it was the 
custom to bathe immediately before eating the Passover. 
No doubt Jesus and his disciples had bathed before 
entering that prepared room. If there was any wash- 
ing feet for cleanliness, it was done on entering the 
room or before entering it. Jesus very clearly showed 
the disciples that the object of his washing their feet 
was not cleanliness. 'He that is bathed needeth not save 
to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are 
clean' (verse 10, Revised Version). The words 'save* 
and 'his feet' are not to be found in ancient authorities; 
they are omitted. The words Jesus spoke were these: 
'He that is bathed needeth not to wash, but is clean every 
whit: and ye are clean.' They were 'every whit' clean. 
That means feet and all. If he had washed them for 
cleanliness, he would have included their hands and their 
heads, as Peter suggested; but they had been to the bath 
and were 'every whit' clean. He was washing for a 
different purpose. He was instituting a Christian rite, 
the rite of feet- washing; hence it was not necessary to 
wash them, 'save their feet/ 

"Peter was a Jew and -he. was well acquainted with 
Jewish customs and ordinances ; but he was astonished 
at what Jesus was doing. He had never seen the like 
before. That proves conclusively that what the Lord 
did was. not a Jewish custom. Again, Jesus said to him, 



306 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

'What I do thou knowest not now.' He knew the Jewish 
custom well enough, but he knew nothing of the feet- 
washing that Jesus was there performing. So it was not 
the custom. 

"There is a penalty attached to the refusal or neglect 
of the feet-washing that Jesus performed and com- 
manded. When Peter said, 'Thou shalt never wash my 
feet/ Jesus replied, 'If I wash thee not, thou hast no 
part with me.' Here was one who refused to take any 
part in the feet-washing in the assembly of the saints. 
He was unwilling that Christ should wash his feet. But 
the Master gave him to understand that if he would not 
submit and take part, he would be cut off from his 
(Christ's) union and fellowship. 'Thou hast no part 
with me.' It meant separation. Such is the penalty. 
It means just as much to you, dear friend, as it did to 
Peter. But when we come to old universal customs, 
there is never any penalty attached for their non-observ- 
ance. Jesus would not for a moment make some old 
Jewish rite a test of fellowship between him and a be- 
loved disciple. This adds another strong proof in favor 
of feet- washing as an ordinance of the New Testament." 
Pp. 243—251. 

OTHER OBJECTIONS. 

When people are unwilling to obey the Word of God 
on this point, they offer all sorts of objections; but their 
theories can not stand the test of eternal truth. But 
this "sandal" theory is about the most foolish of all the 
objections offered. The writer is at the present time 
engaged in missionary work in the Orient, and I find 



FEET-WASHING. 307 

the custom of sandal- wearing still in existence; but I do 
not find that it is a custom for the natives to "wash one 
another's feet." Furthermore, I have observed that 
those religious people who in America claim that Christ 
washed the disciples' feet because their wearing sandals 
made cleansing necessary, do not obey the injunction, 
"Wash one another's feet," when engaged in missionary 
work among these sandal-wearing natives. If the feet- 
washing Christ practised and commanded was founded 
on sandal-wearing, why do they not obey it, at least in 
the same country and under the same conditions? The 
reason is clear — they are not humble enough. And they 
also know that the theory* of sandal-wearing is not an 
explanation, but only an excuse, 

A true sister in Christ of my acquaintance was once 
visited by a sectarian preacher, who asked why she did 
not attend his meetings; and she replied that it was be- 
cause his church did not believe and practise all the 
Word of God. He insisted that it did. She then asked 
about this ordinance; and he began, in the usual manner, 
to attempt to explain it away. First he brought up this 
old sandal theory ; but the sister knew the truth and was 
able to refute it by the Scriptures. He then shifted to 
the substitution theory — that Christ intended to teach 
merely tiiat we should perform good works; and he ex- 
plained that if we give assistance to the ministers of 
Christ, or if we visit the sick and suffering, or take food 
or a basket of fruit to some poor person, we are thereby 
obeying this scripture. The sister admitted that these 
good works were a necessary accompaniment of pure 
religion; but she also said, "Jesus did not say, 'If I then, 



808 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also 
ought to give to the preacher, visit the sick and suffer- 
ing, or take a basket of fruit to a poor person'; but he 
said, 'If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your 
feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I 
have given you an example that ye should do as I have 
done to you.' " The truth made the preacher uncomfor- 
table; so he shifted to another position, and said that 
Christ did this in order to rebuke the spirit of strife 
and exaltation that existed among the apostles, and to 
show them their true position with reference to each 
other. He proceeded to cite from the Gospels examples 
of the manifestation of a desire for preeminence on the 
part of certain of the apostles, and concluded with the 
assertion that Christ chose this admirable method of 
bringing them down to one common level, where they be- 
longed. The sister then replied: "If feet-washing was 
such a good thing in those days, in order to bring the 
apostles to one common level, I should think it would be 
a very good thing for you preachers today ; for when you 
are a pastor, you seek to become a presiding elder; and 
the presiding elder seeks to become a bishop [the form 
of organization in that sect] — all for the purpose of 
securing preeminence and authority over the rest.** Then 
the preacher was ready to say good-by. Such hireling 
ministers do not want this humble equality. 

Some years ago I read in an antiordinance paper an 
article against feet-washing. The writer first attempted 
to weaken it as a command by saying that we simply 
"should" or "ought" to do it — that is all. Then he pro- 
ceeded to produce what he regarded as a most powerful 



FEET-WASHING. 309 

argument against the ordinance: he said that the only 
reason for its observance was the one word "if," and that 
it was indeed a precarious situation for a great church 
ordinance to be suspended on such a little, insignificant 
word as "if." He argued that "if" implied doubt and 
uncertainty; therefore no such thing as a church or- 
dinance could be established upon it. But this "false 
prophet" or "blind guide" of sect-Babylon did not notice 
that in this case the "if" is altogether positive. "If I 
then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye 
also ought to wash one another's feet." The "if" refers 
to the fact of Christ's performing the act. Now, did 
Christ really wash their feet? Every one admits that 
he did. Therefore, since it is unquestionably a fact 
that he did wash their feet, it is unquestionably a fact 
that we "ought to wash one another's feet." 

Let us notice another great doctrine of the Word that 
is hinged on the same kind of an "if," in language almost 
identical with that just considered. "Beloved, if God 
so loved us, we ought also to love one another" (1 John 
4:11). // God has loved us, then we ought to love one 
another. Now, is it a settled fact that God has loved 
us ? Yes, for he has proved it. "God so loved the world 
that he gave his only begotten Son" (John S: 16). Since 
it is a positive fact that God has loved us, then it is a 
positive fact that we "ought to love one another." 

"If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your 
feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet." There 
is no evading this truth without wilful perversion of the 
Word of God. Let every one be careful how he deals 
with the question of eternal truth. 



310 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

WAS PRACTISED IN THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH. 

First, Christ himself set the example, instituted the 
practise, and then commanded its observance. That is 
sufficient to establish it. It is not mentioned many 
times in the Word, but why should it be? Must the 
Word of God be repeated over and over in order to 
make it authoritative? The new birth is set forth r clearly 
only in the same Gospel, that of John, in the conversa- 
tion Christ held with Xicodemus; yet this doctrine is all- 
important — the very foundation of true Christianity it- 
self. So also the communion service, observed in some 
form by nearly all Christians, is mentioned only twice 
in the Epistles (1 Cor. 11 and Acts 20:7); yet no one 
denies that it was generally practised in the apostolic 
church. 

The apostles preached the whole Word of God in the 
churches that they raised up; hence when they wrote 
epistles to them afterwards, they had no special reason 
for setting forth doctrine specifically, unless some special 
conditions required it. It will be seen, therefore, that 
the doctrine set forth in these epistles occurs rather by 
accident, one might say — the result of circumstances. It 
is not at all likely that Paul would have mentioned the 
communion in his letter to the Corinthians had it not 
been for the misunderstanding and perversion of the sub- 
ject that existed there. So also feet-washing is men- 
tioned in the same casual way — but it is mentioned- 
Writing to Timothy relatively to certain conditions 
under which widows should be taken under the financial 
care of the church and provided for. he says she should 
be "well reported of for good works ; if she have brought 



FEET-WASHING. 811 

up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have 
washed the saints* feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, 
if she have diligently followed every good work" (1 
Tim. 5: 10). 

The statement that this refers to some sort of hos- 
pital nurse, whose duties required her to wash the feet 
of others, is almost too foolish for serious thought. The 
instructions were not concerning hospital nurses, but 
concerning "widows" who were not able to provide for 
themselves and had nobody else to care for them. Fur- 
thermore, she was only to wash "the saints' feet"; whereas 
no such discrimination on the part of a nurse would be 
allowable or thought of by any sensible man or woman. 
And the fact that this service was extended only to 
"the saints" is positive proof that it was no ordinary 
act of regular duty or hospitality, but that it possessed 
a religious and churchly significance. 

Let us connect this fact with the circumstances 
under which the practise was instituted. On the same 
night and on the same occasion when, and in the same 
room where, Christ instituted the ordinance of the com- 
munion, himself setting the example and then command- 
ing its observance, he also instituted feet-washing, him- 
self setting the example and then commanding its ob- 
servance. But who were to observe it? The disciples 
— "wash one another's feet." Not the feet of strangers 
or sinners, but "one another's feet." How clear! So 
also Paul mentions the ordinance in connection with 
the widow — "if she have washed the saints' feet" This 
ordinance was not limited to widows, however, though 
they are here mentioned accidently, as it were; but 



312 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Christ said to his apostles, all of whom were men, "YE 
ought also to wash one another's feet." "If ye know 
these things, happy are ye if ye do them." 

The idea that feet-washing as an ordinance was prac- 
tised in the apostolic church gains further support from 
the fact that the oldest churches, such as the Greek, 
the Roman Catholic, and the Gregorian (Armenian), have 
retained the rite in their religious systems until the 
present day. There is no reasonable way to account 
for the origin of this practise among these old and 
independent sects except by acknowledging that it was 
the practise of the original church. True, they have 
peculiar ways of observing it, but they have perverted 
the other ordinances as well; yet they keep them all 
in some form or other. It has remained for Protes- 
tants who profess to believe the Bible to discard this 
sacred ordinance of the gospel. 

ITS LESSON TO US. 
The ordinance of feet-washing, like the other ordi- 
nances, is intended to teach us some important lessons. 
In the first place, it teaches a real lesson of humility, 
made very clear to us when we undertake to practise 
it. It sets forth our position of equality in the church, 
showing that we all, as brethren and sisters, belong on 
the same common level. Jesus himself, our Lord and 
Master, humbled himself and washed the feet of his 
disciples; therefore how much more reasonable it is 
that we should wash one another's feet. And it also 
shows that we are properly servants of each other, 
that we must minister to the good of each other. How- 



FEET-WASHING. 313 

ever, we must observe the proper sex distinctions, as 
recognized in the Word of God and by society. Let 
the sisters wash the feet of the sisters, and the breth- 
ren the feet of the brethren. "Let everything be done 
decently and in order" (1 Cor. 14:40). Oh, how real 
this all becomes when we humbly obey the Word! "If 
ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them." In 
the last great day our Lord will say, "As ye have done 
it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have 
done it unto me." 



THE CHURCH IN PROPHECY 
AND HISTORY. 



THE CHURCH 



By F. G. Smith. 



©FHECY AMD HflST©RY 



PARADISE 

_R£IGN OF THE MARTYRS "WITH CHR.ST" IQQQ V EARS -Rev. SO;4 ■ 6 :s-„ 





CHAPTER XVI. 

THE APOSTOLIC PERIOD. 

In previous chapters I have given a description of 
the establishment of the church of God in the apostolic 
age, showing its divine organization and characteris- 
tics. This description was drawn principally from the 
Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. But the mission 
of the church was not to be limited to the period of the 
apostles; it was designed to be worldwide in its extent 
and perpetual, "even unto the end of the world." This 
being the case, it was fitting that the future history of 
the church should be described prophetically, in order 
that we might have definite knowledge concerning the 
operations of the Divine Hand in working out the great 
problem of the church's destiny after the close of the 
sacred canon. In fact, if inspiration had not given 
us information of this character, much of the history 
of the Christian dispensation, wrapped in superstition 
and ignorance, would indeed appear gloomy. But since 
in the word of prophecy we see streaks of divine light 
breaking at intervals through the thick darkness, we are 
assured that the church did not fail through inherent 
weakness, but that God foresaw all its vicissitudes and 
portrayed them in advance for our encouragement and 
hope; until, finally, in the evening time of the world 
the whole scene lights up once more in glorious day. 

The prophets of the old dispensation wrote concern- 
ing the dawn of the gospel era. The church of that 
period is described by Daniel as a "stone cut out without 



318 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

hands" — the divine kingdom of God (Dan. 2:34, 44). 
Isaiah says: "For, behold, darkness shall cover the 
earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall 
arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. 
And the Gentiles shall come to the light, and kings 
to the brightness of thy rising" (Isa. 60:2, 3). So 
also Malachi: "But unto you that fear my name shall 
the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; 
and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves in the stall" 
(Mai. 4:2). This light of primitive Christianity was 
ushered in by John who "came for a witness, to bear 
witness of the light" (John 1:7). 

With the breaking forth of this glorious light of 
pristine Christianity arose the church of God, established 
in unity, spotless in purity, glorious in power, and 
adorned with all the rich graces of the Holy Spirit. Who 
can describe her? "Her ways are ways of pleasant- 
ness, and all her paths are peace" (Prov. 3: 17). She 
is the bride of Christ (John 3:29), the heavenly Jeru- 
salem (Rev. 21:9, 10 with Heb. 12:22, 23), which is 
"the mother of us all" (Gal. 4: 26). 

THE SYMBOLIC WOMAN— PURE CHURCH. 

John saw her in Apocalyptic vision, and describes 
her thus : "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven ; 
a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her 
feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: and 
she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained 
to be delivered" (Rev. 12: 1, 2). 

The beloved apostle was caught up to heaven, where 
he beheld in vision a great panorama portraying future 



THE APOSTOLIC PERIOD. 319 

events relative to the church's history, all of which, 
however, were to take place actually upon the earth 
(Rev. 4: 1). So in the vision of chapter 12. The wo- 
man appears as the symbol of the church of God in its 
early glory. She was arrayed in the most splendid 
manner, all the brightest luminaries of heaven being 
gathered around her, thus symbolizing the divine light, 
and glory, and exaltation of the primitive church. But 
she had enemies. 

"And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and 
behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten 
horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail 
drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast 
them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the 
woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour 
her child as soon as it was born. And she brought forth 
a man-child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of 
iron: and her child was caught up unto God and to 
his throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness, 
where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should 
feed her there a thousand two hundred and three score 
days" (verses 3-6). 

In the Revelation, symbols drawn from the depart- 
ment of human life invariably refer to ecclesiastical 
affairs; while those drawn from the natural world or 
inanimate nature refer to civil or political affairs, and 
thus a proper correspondence of character and quality 
is kept up.* Therefore this woman — a pure woman — 

*For a thorough treatment of this subject see my book 
entitled "The Revelation Explained," introductory chapter, 
"The Nature of Symbolic Language;" also for a clear ex- 
planation of the prophecies themselves. Published by Gospel 
Trumpet Co., Anderson, Ind. Price, $1.00. 



320 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

is properly chosen to represent the pure church. This 
application of the symbol is further confirmed by the 
fact that in a subsequent chapter of the Revelation 
(17) a vile harlot is clearly chosen as the representa- 
tive of an apostate church. 

THE GREAT DRAGON— PAGAN ROME. 

The dragon of this vision is a beast from the natural 
world, and therefore properly symbolizes a tyrannical, 
persecuting power or government. This we must iden- 
tify in order to understand the nature of the opposition 
to the woman, the church. 

It was a "red dragon, having seven heads and ten 
horns, and seven crowns upon his heads." In the follow- 
ing thirteenth chapter of the Revelation we read that 
John saw a beast rising up out of the sea with the same 
number of heads and horns, but ten crowns on his horns. 
"And the dragon gave him [the beast] his power, and 
his seat, and great authority" (verse 2). So far as the 
heads and the horns are concerned, the only difference 
between the two is that the crowns — a symbol of su- 
preme authority and power — have been transferred 
from the heads to the horns. In chapter 17 John saw 
the same beast again, and there received the following 
explanation of the seven heads: "And there are seven 
kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not 
yet come; and when he cometh he must continue a short 
space" (ver. 10). Concerning the horns he was told, 
"The ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which 
have received no kingdom as yet" (verse 12). 

With this explanation before us, it will be easy to 



THE APOSTOLIC PERIOD. 821 

identify the dragon of chapter 12 and the beast of 
chapters 13 and 17 as the Roman Empire; the first under 
the pagan and the second under the papal form. The 
seven heads signify the seven distinct forms of supreme 
government that ruled successively in the Empire. The 
five that had already fallen when John received the vision 
were the regal power, the consular, the decemvirate, 
the military tribunes, and the triumvirate. "One is" 
— the imperial. The seventh head we will identify 
later. The ten horns, or kingdoms, which had not yet 
risen when the Revelation was given were the ten minor 
kingdoms that grew out of the Western Roman Empire 
during its decline and fall. These are as follows: 

1. Ostrogoths 6. Burgundians 

2. Visigoths 7. Heruli 

8. Suevi 8. Anglo-Saxons 

4. Vandals 9. Huns 

5. Franks 10. Lombards 

The dragon is described with the horns, although 
they were not yet in existence and did not rise until 
nearly the time when the dragon became the beast, as 
we shall see later. Likewise he is represented with 
seven heads, although he really possessed only one head 
at a time, and five had already fallen and one was yet 
to come. He is described with all the heads and horns 
that he ever had and was to have. 

The tail of this dragon "drew the third part of the 
stars of heaven, and did cast them to earth." This 
description is not literal, as some people foolishly try 
to imagine, but is symbolic. And with our knowledge 



322 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

of the proper use of symbols this dragon is easily iden- 
tified with the Roman Empire under its pagan form; 
while the casting down of the stars, which are doubtless 
used as symbols of ministers, as in chap. 1 : 20, signi- 
fies the warfare which this awful beast-power waged 
against the church of God, in which her ministers were 
always a shining mark for the first persecution and suf- 
fered terribly for the cause they represented. 

SIGNIFICATION OF THE MAN-CHILD. 

The man-child is the next object that claims our at- 
tention. What does it signify? It is evident that it can 
not signify a definite, single personage; for after he 
is caught up to God, there is still a remnant of the wo- 
man's seed left upon earth (see chap 12: 17). A care- 
ful study of the facts brought out in the New Testament 
shows that the man-child symbolizes the mighty host 
of new converts, or children, that the early church by 
her earnest travail brought forth. The seeming incon- 
gruity that the church, or mother, and her children are 
alike only serves to establish the point in question when 
rightly understood. The child is of the same substance 
as its mother and is designed to perpetuate the race. 
So also the new-born babes in the church are just the 
same spiritually as those who are older, and are intended 
to perpetuate the church of God on earth. This is also 
a distinct reason why the church of God in this dis- 
pensation should be represented by two individuals — 
a woman and her son. In chapter 17 we find another 
double symbol, a vile woman and her daughters being 
chosen to symbolize two distinct phases of apostasy. 



THE APOSTOLIC PERIOD. 323 

So also in the vision before us it was necessary that a 
double symbol, such as a woman and her son, should 
be chosen to set forth two phases of the church brought 
to view in this chapter. If but a single symbol were 
used, how could the church be thereby represented as 
continuing on earth and fleeing into the wilderness, and 
at the same time be represented as "overcome," perse- 
cuted to the death, and "caught up unto God and to 
his throne"? This double phase of the church in this 
dispensation — the experience of the saints on earth and 
the reign of the martyrs in paradise — will be referred 
to in a subsequent chapter and should be remembered 
by the reader. 

But there is also direct Scripture testimony concern- 
ing the identity of this man-child. "Before she travailed, 
she brought forth; before her pain came, she was de- 
livered of a man-child. Who hath heard such a thing? 
who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to 
bring forth in one day? or shall a nation be born at 
once? for as soon as Zion travailed, she brought forth 
her children" (Isa. 66 :7, 8). According to Heb. 12: 
22, 23, this Zion, or Sion, referred to in the New Testa- 
ment church, and the man-child that she is said to bring 
forth is interpreted by Isaiah as "a nation born at once." 
Such language perfectly describes the rapid increase in 
the church on Pentecost and shortly afterwards, when 
thousands were added in one day. According to the 
apostle Paul, the host of Jews and Gentiles reconciled 
unto God through Jesus Christ constituted "one new 
man" in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:15). See also Gal. 3: 
28, R. V. 



324 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

THE HOLY WAE. 

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his an- 
gels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought 
and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was there 
place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon 
was cast out, that old serpent, called the devil and Satan, 
which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into 
the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. And 
I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come 
salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, 
and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our 
brethren is cast down, which accused them before our 
God day and night. And they overcame him by the 
blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; 
and they loved not their lives unto the death" (Rev. 
12:7-11). 

This was not a literal conflict fought in the real 
heaven, as some imaginative poets have pictured, but 
was a conflict which was symbolically pictured in heaven, 
but which took place actually upon the earth. This 
is proved by the kind of weapons employed in over- 
coming the dragon: "They overcome him by the blood 
of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony." 
The blood of Christ was shed upon earth, and here it 
was that his devoted followers proclaimed the blood and 
testified to its power to save, and "loved not their lives 
unto the death." The whole scene is highly symbolic 
of the fierce conflict that took place between the early 
followers of Christ and the hosts of paganism; and so 
sweeping was the victory gained by the soldiers of the 
cross that the cry was heard, "Now is come salvation, 



THE APOSTOLIC PERIOD. 325 

and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power 
of his Christ; for the accuser of our brethren is cast 
down, which accused them before our God day and night." 
Well has Butler said: "The final victory of Christianity 
over heathenism and Judaism, and the mightiest empire 
of the ancient world, a victory gained without physical 
force, by the moral power of faith and perseverance, 
of faith and love, is one of the sublimest spectacles of 
history, and one of the strongest evidences of the divinity 
and indestructible life of our holy religion." 

But the fact that many Christians lost their lives in 
this conflict (verse 11), insomuch that the man-child is 
represented as caught up to God (verse 5), shows that 
the dragon employed also the arm of civil power in 
his opposition to the growing truth. But Christianity 
increased rapidly notwithstanding the violent opposition 
and persecutions of the pagans. An example of its prog- 
ress is given in the nineteenth chapter of Acts, where it 
is said that the entire city of Ephesus was stirred over 
the preaching of Paul. Before the death of the apos- 
tles, according to the younger Pliny, the temples of 
the gods in Asia Minor were almost forsaken. In this 
golden period the true church of God shone forth in all 
her glory and beauty. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE GREAT APOSTASY. 

The pure church of the apostolic period was not to 
continue ever with glories undimmed. It was God's will 
that she should remain the same, but conditions among 
men were destined to bring about a great change in her 
spiritual affairs; therefore inspiration has given us in 
advance a description of the great apostasy. 

Peter refers to this subject in these words: "But there 
were false prophets also among the people even as there 
shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall 
bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that 
bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruc- 
tion. And many shall follow their pernicious ways: 
by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken 
of" (2 Pet. 2:1, 2). 

Jesus described the same as follows: "Take heed that 
no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, 
saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." "And 
many false prophets shall arise and shall deceive many. 
And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many 
shall wax cold" (Matt. 24:4, 5, 11, 12). 

A FAILING AWAY. 
But Paul gives us a more particular description of the 
apostasy. Certain teachers had been troubling the 
minds of the Thessalonians with the announcement that 
the second coming of Christ was imminent; so the apos- 
tle wrote: "Let no man deceive you by any means: 



328 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

for that day shall not come, except there come a fall- 
ing away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son 
of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above 
all that is called God, or that is worshiped; so that he 
as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself 
that he is God" (2 Thess. 2: 3, 4). 

By consulting the historical facts in the case we find 
that these predictions were only too true. Even before 
the death of the apostles themselves the apostasy was 
beginning to work, and its effects were noticeable in 
certain places. Thus, in the seven churches in Asia 
Minor, addressed in the opening chapters of the Reve- 
lation, we find proof of this sad deflection The church 
at Ephesus had left its first love (Rev. 2:4). The church 
at Pergamus was compromising with false teachers 
and was being ruined by false doctrines (Rev. 2: 14, 15). 
Thyatira had lost the spirit of judgment against wrong- 
doing, and was tolerating immorality to a shocking de- 
gree (Rev. 2:20-23). Sardis had lost its spiritual life; 
therefore the message to it was, "Thou hast a name that 
thou livest, and art dead" (Rev. 3:1). Laodicea had 
lost spiritual warmth and fervor, and was lukewarm"; 
therefore the Lord said to her, "Because thou art luke- 
warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of 
my mouth" (Rev. 3:15, 16). This church was fast 
approaching the condition described by Christ in the 
words, "Because iniquity shall abound, the love of many 
shall wax cold." 

The writer has in his possession the writings of the 
church fathers that succeeded the apostles, and these 
clearly show how the simple apostolic truth was being 



THE GREAT APOSTASY. 329 

lost sight of and how rapidly the dark night of spirit- 
ual apostasy was coming on. The churches of that 
age were filled with multitudes of nominal professors, 
while errors and heresies were gradually creeping in. 
Nor was this condition limited to one locality; it was 
universal. The churches, East and West, Greek and 
Latin, experienced this great "falling away" and plun- 
ged into the darkness and gloom of spiritual night. 

One historian refers to it thus: "Almost proportionate 
with the extension of Christianity was the decrease in 
the church of vital piety. A philosophising spirit among 
the higher, and a wild monkish superstition among the 
lower orders, fast took the place in the third century 
of the faith and humility of the first Christians. Many 
of the clergy became very corrupt, and excessively ambi- 
tious. In consequence of this, there was an awful de- 
flection of Christianity." — Marsh's Church History, p. 
185. The italicizing is mine. 

THE APOSTASY UNIVERSAL. 

Concerning this monkish superstition, as an example 
of apostasy, Dowling says, "It actually affected the 
church universal, so far as the extent materials of ecclesi- 
astical history enables us to trace its rise and progress." 
— History of Romanism p. 89. 

Now, the history of the church since it first became 
extensive has always been closely interwoven with the 
political affairs of nations and kingdoms. In the early 
ages its expansion was limited to the boundaries of the 
Roman Empire; therefore its development and character 
were largely bound up with the fortunes of that empire 



330 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

itself. From the time of the permanent separation of the 
empire into Eastern and Western divisions, the churches 
East and West gradually became more and more 
separated from each other, and they came to be desig- 
nated by the term "Greek" in the East and the term 
"Latin" in the West, on account of the prevailing lan- 
guages. Finally the rupture became complete, and all 
relations between the East and West were broken off. 

But we must remember that before this separation 
took place, and while the churches East and West were 
closely united, the great apostasy set in and, as we have 
already shown, "affected the church universal." There- 
fore since the separation we have simply two great di- 
visions of the one great apostasy. Out of the one di- 
vision of the apostasy developed the churches of the East 
— Greek, Old Syrian, Gregorian (Armenian), Abys- 
sinian, Nestorian, Coptic, etc.; while from the other 
division arose the papacy in the West, and out of it 
Protestantism with its many divisions, as we shall see 
presently. But since the fortunes of the West, political 
and ecclesiastical, were destined to rise to greater heights, 
and overshadow and eclipse the fortunes of the 
East, the prophecies are naturally directed more par- 
ticularly to the Western Empire and bring into special 
prominence the development of ecclesiasticism there. 
Hence during the Middle Ages the papacy forms the 
chief subject of prophetic interest. 

THE PAPACY. 

In the scripture already referred to, 2 Thess. 2 : 3, 
4, it is the papacy that the apostle so graphically de- 



THE GREAT APOSTASY. 331 

scribes, as any reader possessing historical knowledge 
can easily see. The description is so real that one 
could almost think that it was written after the devel- 
opment of the papacy itself: "That man of sin should 
be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and 
exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is 
worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of 
God, showing himself that he is God." 

In this connection the apostle shows that the seeds of 
apostasy out of which the papacy was to grow were al- 
ready planted; for he says, "The mystery of iniquity 
doth already work" (verse 7). While this church apos- 
tate grew up by degrees in the West, it finally attained 
great dominion and authority, civil and ecclesiastical; 
so that Rome became as thoroughly Christian (so-called) 
as it had previously been pagan. In fact, it was simply 
the Roman Empire in the West in another form, arrayed 
in a Christian instead of a heathen garb. It is therefore 
described in the prophecies of the Revelation as the 
successor of the dragon, or heathen Rome, reigning in 
his stead and exercising his dominion and power. 

In the previous chapter we have shown from Reve- 
lation 12 how primitive Christianity in its pure form 
(symbolized both by Michael and his angels, and by the 
pure woman) waged war against the prevalent pagan- 
ism and succeeded in overthrowing it, thus obtaining 
a wonderful victory. But by consulting verses 14-17 of 
chapter 12 it will be seen that the woman is afterwards 
represented as the defeated party and that she fled into 
the wilderness. This represents the period of the apos- 
tasy now under consideration. We next have, in chap- 



332 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ter 13, a description of the papal church reigning su- 
preme with civil and ecclesiastical power in the place 
of the dragon, or heathen Rome. 

"And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a 
beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and 
ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his 
heads the name of blasphemy. And the beast which I 
saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet 
of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and 
the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great 
authority. And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded 
to death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the 
world wondered after the beast. And they worshiped 
the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they 
worshiped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? 
who is able to make war with him? And there was given 
unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies ; 
and power was given unto him to continue forty and 
two months. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy 
against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, 
and them that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto 
him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: 
and power was given him over all kindreds, and 
tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth 
shall worship him, whose names are not written in the 
book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the 
world" (Rev. 13: 1-8). 

The heads and horns of this beast prove his sub- 
stantial identity with the dragon of chapter 12, as 
already explained. In verse 3 of this chapter we find 
that one of his seven heads was wounded, then healed, 



THE GREAT APOSTASY. SSS 

after which nearly the whole world wandered after the 
beast and worshiped him. The explanation of this fact is 
to be found in Revelation 17, where the same beast 
appears again with its seven heads and ten horns (verse 
3). Here the seven heads are represented as seven kings, 
or powers — the seven distinct forms of government that 
ruled successively in the Roman Empire; and John 
was thus informed: "Five are fallen, and one is [exists at 
the present time — the time when the Revelation was 
given], and the other is not yet come; and when he com- 
eth he must continue a short space" (verse 10). 

The five fallen heads I have already named; the one 
that existed when the Revelation was given was the 
imperial, and it was the head that was wounded as it 
were to death, which occurred when the hordes of bar- 
barians from the North overran and subverted the 
Western Empire. Afterwards another head arose, the 
patriciate, the empire of Charlemagne, which lasted only 
"a short space," about twenty-six years when Charle- 
magne was crowned Emperor of Rome, thus reviving 
the empire of the West wholly under the papal form, 
which continued as the Holy Roman Empire down to 
the time of the French Revolution, or the time of Na- 
poleon the First. 

John was informed that the beast of chapter 17 
"was, and is not, and yet is" (verse 8), which is equiva- 
lent to saying that it existed, then it did not exist, but 
it afterwards existed again. This was the historical 
fact, and herein we have the wounding and the healing 
of the beast. First it appears in the Revelation under 
its sixth, or imperial, head, which was wounded^ or 



334 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

destroyed, as I have already shown; then for a time it 
did not exist; but afterwards it was revived, in which 
condition John saw it in Revelation 17, and was told, 
"The beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, 
and is of the seven and goeth into perdition" (verse 11). 
As "healed," and in its papal form, the head of the 
beast was what might be termed by successive num- 
bers the eighth; but this eighth form was "of the seven," 
being simply the imperial form revived under a Christian 
garb. 

A VIOLENT PERSECUTING POWER. 

These heads and horns, however, referred to the beast 
simply as a political power. The ecclesiastical part is 
in this seventeenth chapter described under the symbol 
of a corrupt woman sitting on this beast and directing 
it, which thus describes the papacy to the very letter. 
"And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet-colored beast, 
full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and 
ten horns. And the woman was arrayed in purple 
and scarlet color, and decked with gold and precious 
stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full 
of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: and 
upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, 
BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HAR- 
LOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. 
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the 
saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and 
when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration" 
(Rev. 17:3-6). 

This agrees with chapter 13, where this beast-power 
is represented as exercising dominion and trampling 



THE GREAT APOSTASY. 335 

upon the people of God. "And it was given unto him 
to make war with the saints, and to overcome them ; and 
power was given unto him over all kindreds, and 
tongues, and nations" (verse 7). 

The fearful persecutions of Christians in the past 
history of papal Rome is well known, and to describe 
it here would be to write another book of martyrs. It 
has been estimated that at least sixty million people 
suifered death by the power of papal Rome under the 
authority and direction of this apostate church. It is 
useless for Romanists to attempt to shift responsibility 
from themselves by saying that it was the civil power 
that did this; for everybody knows that in the Middle 
Ages the civil power was merely a tool in the hands of 
the church. If the beast did the actual work of slaugh- 
ter, the prophecy represents the woman as also "drunk- 
en with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of 
the martyrs of Jesus," which shows that she also de- 
lighted in this abominable work. It is the doctrine of 
the church of Rome that she has the lawful right to 
exterminate heretics by death, and this doctrine has 
been confirmed again and again by the great general 
councils of that church, with the popes themselves in 
full accord and sometimes present in person.* This 
church als6 boasts that she never changes her doctrine. 

ITS IDENTITY WITH HEATHENISM. 

"And all the world wondered after the beast. And 
they worshiped the dragon which gave power unto the 

*For an extended discussion of this subject and full 
historical proofs see "The Revelation Explained," pp. 336-344* 



336 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES 

beast: and they worshiped the beast" (Rev. 13:3, 4). 
That this beast-power should be an object of wor- 
ship and devotion is no matter of surprise, but how 
could its devotees "worship the dragon" which pre- 
ceded the beast? This was accomplished by the Romish 
church adopting and perpetuating the rites and cere- 
monies of heathenism, or paganism. I have already 
shown that the dragon and the beast as temporal powers 
were about the same in reality, except the change of 
sovereignty from the heads to the horns; so also there 
was a remarkable similarity in spirit between the two, 
the one simply being the successor of the other, thus 
perpetuating under the Christian name many forms 
and ceremonies purely pagan in their origin. I will 
mention a few of these. 

1. The high priest of the pagan religion was called 
Pontifex Maximus, and he claimed spiritual and tem- 
poral authority over men. The Pope of Rome borrowed 
the title and made the same claims, even being clad in 
the same attire. 

2. The heathen wore scapulars, medals, and images 
for personal protection. Romanists wear the things 
and for the same purpose. 

3. Pagans, by an official process called deification, 
raised men, after their death, to a dignified position and 
accorded them special honors and worship. Papists, 
by a similar process called canonization, exalt men after 
their death to the dignity of saints and then offer up 
prayers to them. 

4. Papists' adoration of idols and images was also 



THE GREAT APOSTASY 337 

borrowed direct from the heathen; for all such prac- 
tises were absolutely forbidden by the Mosaic law and 
had no place in primitive Christianity. 

5. Their religious orders of monks and nuns were 
also in imitation of the vestal virgins of antiquity. 

The manner in which the Pantheon at Rome was re- 
consecrated for the use of the church of Rome shows 
clearly the heathen origin and nature of many of that 
church's principles. This old temple is still standing, 
and has been visited by the writer. It was built by 
Marcus Agrippa in 27 B. C. and consecrated to all the 
gods. Pope Boniface IV, about A. D. 610, reconsecrated 
it to "the blessed Virgin and all the saints." From that 
time the Romanists prostrated themselves in the very 
same temple and before the very same images, and de- 
voutly implored them by the same form of prayer and 
for the very same purposes, as did the heathen of old. 
Of course, the names of the idols were changed. The 
same idolatrous worship is still conducted there at the 
present day. 

Well has Dowling said, "The scholar, familiar as he 
is with the classical descriptions of ancient mythology, 
when he directs his attention to the ceremonies of papal 
worship, can not avoid recognizing their close resem- 
blance, if not their absolute idenity." — History of 
Romanism, p 109. 

The "great things" and "blasphemies" (Rev. 13:5) 
spoken by this beast are doubtless the prerogatives and 
rights belonging to God alone which are claimed by this 
apostate church, especially through her regularly con- 
stituted head. In fact, the pope is the real mouth of 



338 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

this beast, the one who dictates her laws with great 
authority. He claims to be the vicar of Christ on earth 
and supreme head of the church, even, as in the case of 
Pope Innocent, denominating himself the one before 
whom every knee must bow, of things in heaven, and 
things on the earth and things under the earth. He 
claims power over the souls of all men on earth and 
even after their departure from earth. If this is not 
blasphemy against God, his tabernacle, or church, and 
"them that dwell in heaven," then I am wholly unable 
to imagine what would fulfil the prediction. Among the 
blasphemous titles assumed are these: Lord God the 
Pope, King of the World, Holy Father, King of Kings, 
and Lord of Lords, Vicegerent of the Son of God. He 
claims infallibility (which was acknowledged by the 
General Council of 1870), and he has claimed such for 
ages. Further, he claims power to dispense with God's 
laws, to forgive sins, to release from purgatory, to damn, 
and to save. 

The prophet Daniel also saw the rise of this ten- 
horned beast and the development of the papacy, and 
he describes its terrible work as continuing for the same 
length of time described in the Revelation (Dan. 7:7, 
8, 19-25). 

THE PAPAL REIGN— PROPHETIC TIME. 
The reign of the papacy is symbolically described 
in different parts of the Revelation, but the limits of 
the present work preclude an extensive treatment of 
the subject. So also the true church or people of God, 
is represented, and forms a most interesting subject 



THE GREAT APOSTASY. 889 

to all lovers of prophetic truth; but only a brief treat- 
ment is here possible. 

The time periods specified are all the same. In Rev. 
12:14 the woman, or true church, is secluded in the 
wilderness for a "time, and times, and half a time." 
A "time" signifies one year (Dan. 4:25); "times" 
(plural, without a designating number) would signify 
two years; and "half a time," one-half year: or three 
and one-half years — forty-two months; or, counting 
thirty days to the month, 1260 days. So also the beast- 
power made war with the saints during this period of 
"forty and two months" or 1260 days. In Revelation 
11 the true church appears symbolized as Jerusalem, 
with its temple and altar, but the same was to be trodden 
down by a profane multitude for "forty and two months" 
(verse 2) ; while God's true witnesses were to "prophesy 
a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed 
in sackcloth" (verse 8). ALL are the same — 1260 days. 

The 1260 days are prophetic time, each day signi- 
fying one year. It is appropriate that days should sym- 
bolize years, for they are analagous periods of time, 
the diurnal revolution of the earth being taken to rep- 
resent the earth's annual movement. Such a system 
of reckoning time was known many centuries ago. When 
Jacob complained to Laban because the latter had given 
him Leah instead of Rachel, "Laban said: it must not 
be so done in our country, to give the younger before 
the first-born. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee 
this also for the service which thou shalt serve me yet 
seven other years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her 
week .... seven other years" (Gen. 29:26-80). In 



340 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

this case it will be seen that a day was used to represent 
a year, since seven days, or one week, represented seven 
years. When the law was given, Moses recognized the 
week of seven natural days, the last day of which was 
constituted a Sabbath-rest for Israel; but he also in- 
stituted a week of seven years, the last year of which 
was a Sabbatical year of rest to the land. This last 
fact will explain such expressions as "forty days, each 
day for a year'* (Num. 14:34), and "I have appointed 
thee each day for a year" (Ezek. 4:6). 

THE CORRECT STARTING-STAKE. 

Now, this time period of 1260 years in the Revela- 
tion covers two distinct lines of prophetic truth — the 
time of the seclusion of the woman, or true church, in 
the wilderness, also the reign of the beast-power, or 
church apostate, which made war against the saints. 
Therefore the time selected for the beginning of this 
period, or the starting-stake, must be a date that will 
agree with both of these facts. But as we have observed, 
the false church did not rise abruptly in one year, 
but was a gradual growth; so also, on the other hand, 
the true church was not driven out abruptly, but there 
was a gradual "falling away." First there was perfect 
light ; later, total darkness : as the one increased, the other 
diminished. The division must therefore be located 
half-way between the two extremes, and this forms a 
proper and consistent date for the beginning of the 
time-prophecy under consideration. 

The beginning of the Christian era was one of per- 
fect light, when pure Christianity shone forth in all 



THE GREAT APOSTASY. 841 

her beauty and glory; about the middle of the sixth 
century we find total darkness, the papacy reigning su- 
preme in the West. The middle line between the two 
extremes lies in the latter part of the third century. 
Let us appeal to the historical facts. 

"The living church retired gradually within the lonely 
sanctuary of a few solitary hearts, an external church 
was substituted in its place, and all its forms were de- 
clared to be of divine appointment. Salvation no longer 
flowing from the Word, which was henceforth put out 
of sight, the priests affirmed that it was conveyed by 
means of the forms they had themselves invented, and 
that none could obtain it but by these channels .... 
The doctrine of the church and the necessity of its 
visible unity [in this apostate form], which had begun 
to gain ground in the third century, favored the pre- 
tentions of Rome." — D' Aubigne History of the Refor- 
mation, Book I, Chap. I. 

"We have found it almost necessary to separate, and 
indeed widely to distinguish the events of the two first, 
from those of the third century, for nearly at this point 
we are disposed to place the FIRST CRISIS in the 
internal history of the church." — Waddington's Church 
History. 

By this time the bishop of Rome had already attained 
a great degree of authority. Concerning this the En- 
cyclopedia Britannica says, "Before the termination of 
the third century the office was held to be of such im- 
portance that its succession was a matter of interest to 
ecclesiastics living in distant sees," Vol. XIX, p. 488. 

George Fisher says, "The accession of Constantine 



342 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

[A. D. 312] found the church so firmly organized under 
the hierarchy that it could not lose its identity by being 
absolutely merged in the state." — History of the Chris- 
tian Church, p. 99. 

As the hierarchy had thus advanced to such an im- 
portant stage before the end of the third century, so 
the church, on the other hand, had "fallen away" to a 
great depth of apostasy. In the year A. D. 270 Anthony, 
an Egyptian, the founder of the monastic institution, 
fixed his abode in the deserts of Egypt and formed 
monks into organized bodies. Dowling shows, as already 
quoted, that great multitudes of people immediately 
followed this example, insomuch that monkery "actually 
affected the church universal." This clearly shows the 
advanced stage of the apostasy at that time. 

The church historian, Joseph Milner, refers to it thus: 
"We shall, for the present, leave Anthony propagating 
the monastic disposition, and extending its influence not 
only into the next century, but for many ages afterward, 
and conclude this view of the state of the third century, 
with expressing our regret that the faith and love of 
the gospel received toward the close of it a dreadful 
blow from the encouragement of this unchristian prac- 
tise." Century III, Chap. XX. 

Again, the same writer says: "Moral, and philosoph- 
ical, and monastic instructions will not effect for men 
what is to be expected from evangelical doctrine. And 
if the faith of Christ was so much declined (and its 
decayed state ought to be dated from about the year 270), 
we need not wonder that such scenes as Eusebius hints 
at without any circumstantial details, took place in the 



THE GREAT APOSTASY. 84* 

Christian world." Century IV, Chap. I. The words in 

parentheses are Milner's also. 

END OF 1260-YEAR PAPAL REIGN. 

The year 270, pointed out by Milner, is a consistent 
dividing-date between the morning-light age and the 
papal age; for at this period the "falling away," or 
apostasy of the church, on the one hand and the rising 
power of the hierarchy on the other hand were about 
equal. Measuring forward the allotted period of 1260 
years brings us to the exact date of the first Protestant 
creed (the Augsburg Confession) in A. D. 1530. To 
this date we must point both for the end of Rome's uni- 
versal spiritual supremacy and for the rise of Protestant- 
ism. 

D' Aubigne, in his "History of the Reformation," 
says when he comes to this period: "The conflicts hith- 
erto described have been partial; we are entering upon 
a new period, that of general battles. Spires (1529) 
and Augsburg (1530) are names that shine forth with 
more immortal glory than Marathon, Pavia, or Marengo. 
Forces that up to the present time were separate, are 
now uniting into one energetic band." Book XVIII, 
Chap. I. "The first two books of this volume contain 
the most important epochs of the Reformation — the 
protest of Spires, and the Confession of Augsburg .... 
I determined on bringing the Reformation of Germany 
and German Switzerland to the decisive epochs of 1530 
and 1531. The history of the Reformation, properly 
so called, is then in my opinion almost complete in those 
countries. The work of faith has there attained its 



S44 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

apogee: that of conferences, of interims, of diplomacy 
begins .... The movement of the sixteenth century 
has there made its effort. I said from the very first, 
It is the history of the Reformation and not of Protes- 
tantism that I am relating." — D' Aubigne: Preface to 
Volume V. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

THE PROTESTANT ERA. 

The Reformation of the Sixteenth Century broke the 
power of Rome's spiritual supremacy. Europe was 
shaken from end to end by a power which it had never 
known before. The great secret of the early successes of 
the reformers was their appeal from the decisions of 
councils and the regulations of men to the Word of God 
itself. And so long as the Word and the Spirit of God 
were allowed their proper place as the governors of God's 
people, the power and inspiration of God rested upon the 
work of the Reformation. But, unhappily, this state of 
affairs did not long continue. Within a few years the 
followers of the reformers were divided into hostile 
sects and began to oppose and persecute each other. 
Luther denounced Zwingle as a heretic, and "the Cal- 
vanists would have no dealings with the Lutherans." 

The first Protestant creed was the Augsburg Con- 
fession, 1530. This date marks an important epoch. 
From this time the people began to lose sight of the 
Word and Spirit of God as their governors. They or- 
ganized themselves into sects, made their own regula- 
tions, creeds and disciplines; and these they upheld by 
every means possible. Thus, we find Calvin, at Geneva, 
consenting to the burning of Servetus because of a dif- 
ference of religious views; and in England the Anglican 
Protestants waged a most bitter, cruel, and relentless 
war not only against Catholics but against all Protes- 
tants who refused to conform to the established church. 



346 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

The Protestants placed armies in the field and fought 
for their creeds, as during the Thirty Years' War in 
Germany and the long period of the Hugenot wars in 
France. From this it will be seen that the rise of Protes- 
tantism (organized sectarianism) in 1530 introduced 
another period of apostasy, or rather another form of the 
apostasy, as distinct in many of its features as was that 
of Romanism before it. The quotation from the histo- 
rian D' Aubigne given in the preceding chapter, shows 
that he regarded the real work of the Reformation as 
ending at the "DECISIVE EPOCHS of 1530 and 
1531/' and that the history of Protestantism there has 
its beginning. 

PROTESTANTISM IN PROPHECY. 

This great system of Protestantism that succeeded 
Romanism, taking the first place in all of the affairs of 
the modern world, was also described in the prophecies. 
Historically, it arose at the expiration of the 1260-year 
period of the reign of the beast (1530); therefore the 
Revelator, after symbolically describing the beast and 
its reign, continues: 

"And I beheld another beast coming up out of the 
earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake 
as a dragon. And he exerciseth all the power of the 
first beast before him, and causeth the earth and them 
which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose 
deadly wound was healed. And he doeth great wonders, 
so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the 
earth in the sight of men. And deceiveth them that 
dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which 



THE PROTESTANT ERA. 847 

he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to 
them which dwell on the earth, that they should make an 
image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and 
did live. And he had power to give life unto the image 
of the beast, that the image of the beast should both 
speak, and cause that as many as would not worship the 
image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth 
all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, 
to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their fore- 
heads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that 
had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number 
of his name. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath under- 
standing count the number of the beast: for it is the num- 
ber of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore 
and six' (Rev. 13:11-18). 

The symbolic description of this beast directs us to a 
political and religious system. He stands as the symbol 
of Protestantism in Europe, although his power and in- 
fluence afterwards extended into "the whole world" 
(chap. 16: 14). He was to exercise "all the power of 
the first beast before him." In another chapter of the 
Revelation (17: 16) it is predicted that the ten horns of 
the beast, or kingdoms of Europe, after supporting the 
papacy during the Dark Ages would later turn against 
her. This prophecy has met a remarkable fulfilment 
under the reign of Protestantism. 

The first two nations to turn violently against popery 
were England and Germany. They have ever been the 
chief supporters and defenders of Protestantism, and 
they are doubtless the two kingdoms symbolized by the 
two horns of this second beast. Protestantism gained 



S48 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

its position and influence in the world largely through 
political power. This can not be denied. 

In this description given by the Revelator, however, 
the special actions ascribed to this beast — speaking, 
working miracles, deceiving, making an image, impart- 
ing life to it, etc., which all belong properly to the 
department of human life — show conclusively that it is 
the character of this beast as an ecclesiastical power that 
is the chief point under consideration. He had political 
power, it is true, but he was not to become such a ter- 
rible beast politically (for his horns were only like a 
lamb) ; but "he spake as a dragon." As soon as we 
enter the department to which speaking by analogy re- 
fers us, we find this beast to be a great religious power; 
and it is in this character alone that he is delineated in the 
remaining verses of the chapter. That the description 
of a religious system is the main burden of this symbol 
is also shown by the fact that this beast is in every case 
in subsequent chapters of the Revelation referred to as 
the "false prophet" (16: 13; 19:20; 20:10). 

THE IMAGE OF THE BEAST. 
This second beast, or Protestantism as a religion, was 
to make an image to the [first] beast. "Image" is de- 
fined to be "an imitation, representation, similitude of 
any person or thing; a copy, a likeness, an effigy." The 
second beast, then, is to manufacture something in imita- 
tion of the first beast. But which phase of the first beast, 
political or ecclesiastical, is to be copied? "The image 
of the beast should .... speak/' This directs us by 
analogy to religious affairs; therefore the copy is an 



THE PROTESTANT ERA. 349 

ecclesiastical organization in imitation of the hierarchy 
of Rome. This shows a remarkable similarity between 
the two. In a subsequent chapter (17) of the Revelation 
they are represented as bearing the close relationship of 
mother and her daughters. In that chapter the symbol of 
the church of Rome is that of a corrupt prostitute; 
while the symbol of Protestantism is that of her harlot 
daughters. Later we shall see that this relationship is 
acknowledged even by leading Protestants. 

The Roman church is a humanly organized institution, 
governed by a set of fallible men, all claims of infal- 
libility to the contrary notwithstanding. Protestant 
sects, likewise, are all human organizations (even though 
they may sometimes deny it), and are governed by a 
man or a conference of men. The Roman Catholic church 
makes and prescribes the theology that her members 
believe. Protestant churches also make their own dis- 
ciplines and prescribe rules of faith and practise. The 
Word of God inspired by his Spirit could not be en- 
forced in Romanism without destroying it. So, too, the 
whole Word in Protestantism would soon annihilate her 
God-dishonoring sects; for they are all contrary to its 
plain teachings, which condemn divisions and enjoin per- 
fect unity and oneness upon the redeemed of the Lord. 

As the beast signifies Protestantism as a general re- 
ligious system, what is said concerning the image of the 
beast applies to the entire body of sects, regardless of 
the differences that exist between them as individual 
institutions. As the single symbol of the dragon set 
forth the multitudinous forms of heathen worship, since 
they were all of the same general character ; so the single 



850 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

symbol of an image to the first beast represents all the 
human organizations called churches, for they are all 
built on the same general principles and are unbiblical. 
We freely acknowledge that during the Protestant era 
there have been great reformations in which God worked 
mightily in the salvation of men and women and from 
which great good has accrued to the race. But looking 
back from the present point of view, we can see that 
these reformations were only partial. They did not re- 
store all of the primitive truth of Christianity, and there- 
fore they were not permanent. In fact, when these 
various movements became thoroughly established and 
widely known, their people, made confident of God's 
approval through past successes, were thereby deceived 
into taking another step — making an image — and or- 
ganizing themselves into ecclesiastical bodies with their 
own disciplines and rules. Whenever this was done 
spirituality rapidly declined, and soon the movement was 
nothing but a cold, formal sect. However, by far the 
greater number of Protestant sects were not preceded by 
truly spiritual reformations, but were deceptive move- 
ments from the beginning. It was the nature of this 
"false prophet" to perform mighty works for the express 
purpose of deceiving the people into taking the next step 
— making an image. 

A PERSECUTING POWER. 

Now, as this beast-power was responsible for the 

"image" — the organization of these sects — he also sought 

to make them possess authority over men; therefore he 

is represented as a persecuting power. It must be re- 



THE PROTESTANT ERA. 851 

membered that John saw this beast "coming up out of the 
earth" — which signifies the apocalyptic earth, or that por- 
tion of the earth made the subject of prophetic vision — 
the Roman Empire. It was at the period when he rose 
and in the place where (as symbolized by the two horns) 
his political influence was exercised that he did his work 
of persecuting and compelling men to accept the image. 

The first Protestant sects in Europe, after they first 
became established and obtained power, acted much in 
the same manner as the church of Rome had acted be- 
fore them, persecuting, banishing, imprisoning, and even 
putting to death those who refused to receive their tenets 
or to conform to the system of religion they had adopted. 
The Lutherans were at first a pious people, but on be- 
coming numerous and exalted by the favor of the great 
they established a certain system of religion and then, 
when it was in their power, persecuted, banished, im- 
prisoned, or put to death those who dissented. As early 
after the Reformation as 1574, in a convention at Tor- 
gaw they established the real presence in the eucharist 
and instigated the Elector of Saxony to seize, imprison, 
or banish all the secret Calvanists that differed from 
them in sentiment, and to induce their followers, by 
every act of violence, to renounce their sentiments and 
to confess ubiquity. Peucer, for his opinions, suffered 
ten years of imprisonment in the severest manner. 
Crellius, in 1601, was put to death. 

In Switzerland, before the city of Zurich itself was 
entirely safe from the encroachments of Romanism, its 
Protestant council condemned a young man named Felix 
Mantz to be drowned because he insisted that the baby- 



352 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

sprinkling of Romanism was not baptism and that all 
who had received this rite ought to be immersed if they 
became true believers in Christ. This sentence was car- 
ried into effect. The severest laws were passed in dif- 
ferent countries of Europe against the Anabaptists, and 
large numbers were banished or burnt at the stake. 

King Henry VIII, founder of the Established Church 
in England, adopted the most stringent laws to enforce 
its doctrines. Certain articles of religion were drawn up, 
known in history as the "Bloody Six Articles." Con- 
cerning these the People's Cyclopedia says: "The doc- 
trines were substantially those of the Roman Catholic 
Church. Whoever denied the first article (that em- 
bodying the doctrine of transsubstantiation) was to be 
declared a heretic, and burnt without opportunity of ab- 
juration; whosoever spoke against the other five articles 
should, for the first offense, forfeit his property; and 
whosoever refused to abjure his first offense, or com- 
mitted a second, was to die like a felon." Article Henry 
VIII. "The royal reformer persecuted alike Catholics 
and Protestants. Thus, on one occasion, three Catholics 
who denied that the king was the rightful head of the 
church, and three Protestants who disputed the doctrine 
of the real presence in the sacrament .... were dragged 
on the same sled to the place of execution." 

In speaking of that period of history and of the re- 
ligious persecutions of the times, Myers says: "Punish- 
ment of heresy was then regarded, by both Catholics and 
Protestants alike, as a duty which could be neglected by 
those in authority only at the peril of Heaven's dis- 
pleasure. Believing this, those of that age could con- 



THE PROTESTANT ERA. 353 

sistently do nothing less than labor to exterminate heresy 
with axe, sword, and fagot."— General History, p 558 

That religious intolerance even at a later date was 
practised in England, witness the twelve years' imprison- 
ment of John Bunyan and the hundreds confined in jails 
throughout that country for not conforming to the estab- 
lished religion. It was such persecution by that early 
Protestant sect that drove the Puritans from England's 
fair country to the then inhospitable shores of America, 
that they might have an opportunity to worship God ac- 
cording to the dictates of their own conscience. 

In Scotland the Covenanters "insisted on their right to 
worship God in their own way. They were therefore 
subjected to most cruel and unrelenting persecution. 
They were hunted by English troopers over their native 
moors and among the wild recesses of their mountains, 
whither they secretly retired for prayer and worship. 
The tales of the suffering Scottish Covenanters at the 
hands of the English Protestants form a most harrowing 
chapter of the records of the ages of religious persecu- 
tion." That the persecution and the tyranny of Protestant- 
ism, however, should never reach the enormous extent of 
those of Romanism before her seems to be indicated by 
the fact that her horns were "like a lamb." 

"THE MARK OF THE BEAST." 

The "mark of the beast" next claims our attention. 
The beast referred to is the papacy. How did the 
papacy mark its subjects? Undoubtedly by the false 
spirit which animated that organization, branding them 
all with its delusive doctrines and errors. In making 



354 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

the sect image in imitation of the papal original, then, 
the principle of marking subjects has also been copied. 
The members of every sect organization are indelibly 
marked. You can not become one of them without sol- 
emnly agreeing to believe the doctrines taught in their 
discipline and accepting the government of their man- 
made institution. Subscribing to the rules of faith and 
practise that originated with the sect shows how its mem- 
bers worship the image. They are also said to worship 
the first beast, the original of the image. How is this 
fulfilled? In the same manner that the worshipers of 
the first beast worshiped the dragon that preceded it; 
namely, by accepting and believing false principles of 
faith that originated in the system immediately preced- 
ing. Protestant sects have transferred many of the false 
doctrines of Romanism to their own creeds; hence they 
worship the first beast just as truly as the papalists 
worship the dragon by accepting heathenish princi- 
ples. The greatest principle of false doctrine that orig- 
inated with Catholicism, and one that has been trans 
ferred to every Protestant sect, is, that a human organi- 
zation is necessary to complete the church of Christ on 
earth. The church of Rome has an earthly head and a 
human government; and Protestants also firmly believe 
the unscriptural doctrine that they must bow to an organ- 
ization of men and thus be under a visible human 
headship: they receive the mark of the beast. Many 
sects have also copied other popish doctrines, such as 
infant baptism, the destruction of all outside the pales 
of the church (?), infantile damnation, sprinkling etc. 
Thus, they worship the first beast as well as his image. 



THE PROTESTANT ERA. 355 

THE "NAME OF THE BEAST." 

They also received the "name of the beast." Here 
again "beast" refers to the papacy. The papal beast 
was represented as being full of the names of blasphemy, 
which blasphemy we have shown to signify the usurpa- 
tion of prerogatives and rights belonging to God alone. 
The greatest ecclesiastical usurpation reached by the 
Romish hierarchy was that of claiming to be the head 
of the church and to possess the right to prescribe and 
enforce their doctrines, naming their organization the 
Holy Catholic Church. In making their organizations in 
imitation, Protestants, as above stated, have transferred 
the same principle, and they make the same blasphemous 
claim of the right to make disciplines to govern God's 
people, and then name their sect machinery a church of 
God. The name may be Methodist, Baptist, Episcopa- 
lian, or what not, it is only a "beast" name, yet a name 
that you must accept if you desire to become one of them. 

THE "NUMBER OF HIS NAME." 
Sectarians not only receive the name of the beast, but 
also receive the "number of his name." It will be neces- 
sary first to explain what is meant by the number of a 
name. "The modern system of notation by the nine 
digits and the cipher, was not introduced until the tenth 
century, but on account of its superior excellence, has 
since superseded every other. Previous to this great 
discovery, the letters of the alphabet were used to denote 
numbers, each letter having the power of a number as 
well as a sound. The same system is still retained 
among us for certain purposes. The Roman letters I, 



356 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

V, X, L, C, D, M, have each the power of expressing a 
number. This however, was the common and the best 
mode of notation that the ancients possessed." The 
number of a name therefore, was merely the number 
denoted by the several letters of that name. 

The number of the name of the beast — the first beast 
— is said to be the number of man. When we enter the 
Romish hierarchy and search for a man the number of 
whose name will be six hundred and sixty-six, where 
should we go more appropriately than to the pope him- 
self, its authorized head? The Scriptures point him 
out particularly as the "man of sin," "the son of perdi- 
tion" (2 Thess. 2:3, 4). Has the pope of Rome a name 
the letters of which, used as numerals, make six hundred 
and sixty-six? Yes. He wears in jeweled letters 
upon his miter the following blasphemous inscription: 
Vicarius Filii Dei — Vicar of the Son of God. Taking 
out of this name all the letters that the Latins used as 
numerals, we have just six hundred and sixty-six. U 
and V were both formerly used to denote five. 

V 5 F 

1 1 1 1 

C 100 L 50 

A 1 1 

R 1 1 

1 1 D 500 

U 5 E 

S 1 1 

666 



THE PROTESTANT ERA. 857 

In some manner the worshipers of Protestant images 
also receive the number of this name — six hundred and 
sixty-six. The name is that of "Vicar of the Son of 
God." In all Protestantism the true Vicars of Christ on 
earth — the Word and the Spirit of God — have been set 
aside, as we shall see presently, and conferences of men 
have taken their place in all the official acts relative to 
spiritual affairs. Hence the number of the name ap- 
plies to Protestants as well as to Romanists. That num- 
ber probably symbolizes division. While the policy of 
Romanism has been that of unity, still the false claims 
made by one individual can be as well made by another, 
and by many, which has been the case, as just ex- 
plained; therefore it would not be improper at all to 
make the pope's number symbol of the whole, since his 
system has been so largely copied by the rest. The 
whole structure of sectarianism is built on the principle 
of division, and it so happens that there is always enough 
left to divide again. It is just like an indeterminate 
decimal. Dividing twenty by three gives six, but does 
not come out even; annexing a cipher and making an- 
other division adds another six to the result (sixty-six), 
and still it is not even; repeating the operation gives 
still another six (six hundred and sixty-six). The re- 
sult is always the same — enough left to divide again. 
So this special number is perhaps the symbol of endless 
division, signifying the great number of human organi- 
zations claiming to be churches of Christ. The church 
of God, however, is built on the principle of unity; 
division is destructive to its true nature and life, for it is 
Christ's body. 



358 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

It is further said that "no man might buy or sell, save 
he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the 
number of his name." To buy or sell is to engage in the 
ordinary pursuits of life and have intercourse with hu- 
man society. Applying this as a symbol to the analo- 
gous department of the church, we have the fact set 
forth that those without the special mark have no more 
recognized standing in the so-called churches than men 
that are not allowed to buy or sell have in a community. 
But selling, as a symbol, would specially indicate the 
dealing out of truth, or the preaching of the gospel. A 
Holy Ghost minister in the clear light of Heaven's truth, 
independent of all the creeds of sectarian Babylon, will 
not be allowed the privilege of laboring among them or 
preaching in their houses. And if he holds meetings in 
the community, the members of the sects are warned by 
their leaders against "buying" — receiving — his doctrine, 
because of his not having the mark or name of the beast. 
Sectarian ministers are specially marked; for they come 
out of their colleges and theological seminaries with the 
stamp of their respective doctrines upon them and licenses 
from the various sects to enter the ministry; and those 
not thus marked or designated have no place among 
them. 

While writing this part of the present chapter in 
Bucharest, Roumania, the author postponed his work of 
writing long enough to attend a Seventh-Day Adventist 
service in company with another brother. After the ser- 
mon another brother requested that we be given the op- 
portunity to speak a little, but the request was absolutely 
refused. An explanation was made, that we would say 



THE PROTESTANT ERA. 359 

nothing against them or their work, but only speak a 
little about salvation; but we were not permitted even to 
testify in a few words. The difficulty was that we did 
not have either the "mark of the beast" or its "name." 

The fact just stated is also well illustrated by the fol- 
lowing circumstance. A few years ago a brother in the 
ministry went into a certain town to find a place to con- 
duct a series of holiness meetings. He was directed by 
a Presbyterian lady to her pastor, who, she said, was 
a believer in the doctrine of holiness, and who would 
therefore, she felt sure, give his place. When the brother 
called on the minister and made known his errand, the 
first question asked him was this, "Are you a member of 
the Presbyterian Church?" The brother answered in the 
negative. He did not have the name of the beast. The 
next question that greeted him was this : "Do you believe 
the Westminster Confession of Faith to be orthodox?" 
He answered, "No, sir." He did not have the mark of 
the beast. The last question asked was, "Do you belong 
to any of the various orthodox Protestant denomina- 
tions?" The brother said, "No." He did not have the 
number of his name. The answer was, "You can not 
have our house." 

The length of the reign of the first beast of Revelation 
13 is given as 1260 (symbolic) days, thus covering the 
period of 1260 years extending from A. D. 270 to 1530, 
when Protestantism arose. But the length of the reign 
of the second beast is not stated in Revelation 13. In 
chapter 11, however, we have another series of prophecy 
covering the period of the reign of these two beasts, and 
it gives us an understanding concerning the length of 



360 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

the reign of each. I will not, however, attempt within 
my present limits to give a complete explanation of 
chapter 11. 

THE TWO WITNESSES. 

In the first part of the chapter we have the fact stated 
that the holy city (New Testament church) should be 
trodden under foot "forty and two months," and that 
during this period God's "two witnesses" should "proph- 
esy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, 
clothed in sackcloth" (verses 2, 3). Now, this covers the 
exact length of the reign of the first beast of chapter 18. 
These "two witnesses" are represented as "the two olive- 
trees and the two candlesticks standing before the God 
of the earth" (verse 4). In this reference is made to the 
fourth chapter of Zechariah, where two olive-trees are 
represented one on each side of a golden candlestick, 
distilling into it their oil for light. When asked for the 
signification of the two olive-trees and two candlesticks, 
the angel answered, "This is the word of the Lord .... 
by my Spirit, saith the Lord" (Zech. 4:6). That the 
Word of God and Spirit of God are special witnesses is 
proved by many texts. Jesus said, "Search the Scrip- 
tures .... they are they which testify of me." (John 
5: 39). This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in 
all the world for a witness unto all nations" (Matt. 24: 
14). "The Holy Ghost also is a witness" (Heb. 10:15). 
"The Spirit itself beareth witness" (Rom. 8: 16). "It is 
the Spirit that beareth witness" (1 John 5:6). All salva- 
tion-work is effected by the Spirit of God acting in con- 
junction with the Word of God. 

That the mission of these two witnesses was divine is 



THE PROTESTANT ERA. 801 

proved by their work, in which allusion is made to the 
miraculous works of Moses and Elijah by which their 
mission was attested, etc. 

In the beginning of this dispensation these two wit- 
nesses were the Vicars of Christ in his church upon 
earth. The Word of God and the Spirit of God were the 
governors of his people. At that time they had perfect 
freedom of action among the people of God. But when 
the apostasy arose, the governing power of the Word 
and Spirit of God in the church was gradually usurped 
by the rising hierarchy; until, finally, men had entire 
authority in what was called the visible church. This 
was brought about when, to quote the words of the histo- 
rian Mosheim, the bishops grasped the power and author- 
ity "to prescribe authoritative rules of faith and man- 
ners." D'Aubigne explains it thus: "Salvation no longer 
flowing from the Word, which was henceforward put out 
of sight, the priests affirmed that it was conveyed by 

means of the forms they had themselves invented 

Christ communicated to his apostles, and these to the 
bishops, the unction of the Holy Spirit; and this Spirit 

is to be procured only in this order of succession 

Faith in the heart no longer connected the members of 
the church, and they were united by means of bishops, 
archbishops, popes, miters, canons and ceremonies." 
— History of the Reformation, Book I, Chap. I. 

During this 1260-year reign of the beast-power there 
existed certain bands of people who stood in opposition 
to the abounding corruption and iniquity of the church of 
Rome; a people who rejected the established hierarchy 
and gave heed to the Word and Spirit of God. Among 



362 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

these were the Cathari, Lombards, Albigenses, Walden- 
ses, Vaudois, etc. The names Waldenses and Albigenses 
have frequently been loosely applied to all of these 
bands. But these faithful people were comparatively 
few in number; therefore the operations of the two wit- 
nesses were greatly limited; hence they are represented 
as being clothed in sackcloth, a symbol of melancholy 
and mourning. 

SLAUGHTER OF THE WITNESSES. 

"And when they shall have finished their testimony, 
the beast that ascended out of the bottomless pit shall 
make war against them, and shall overcome them, and 
kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street 
of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom and 
Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. And they 
of the people and kindreds and tongues and nations shall 
see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall 
not suffer their dead bodies to be put in graves" (Rev. 
11:7-9). 

Here we find that the "beast that ascendeth" at the 
expiration of the 1260-year period is to slaughter the two 
witnesses, and they shall lie exposed for three and one- 
half days. Now, according to chapter 13, the 1260-year 
period marks the reign of the first beast, or the papacy; 
therefore the "beast that ascendeth" at the expiration of 
that period must be the second beast of chapter 13, 
namely, Protestantism. That Protestantism should ac- 
complish the slaughter of the two witnesses may seem a 
hard saying to some, but I request that the matter be 
given the most careful attention in the light of prophecy 
and divine truth. 



THE PROTESTANT ERA. 363 

It is true that the Sixteenth Century Reformation at 
first brought the witnesses out of the wilderness of seclu- 
sion where they had remained during the long night of 
Romanism and exhibited them to the public view; but 
when thus placed upon exhibition, they were soon robbed 
entirely of their position as the Vicars, or Governors, 
of God's church. Since creed- and sect-making first 
began, the Word and Spirit have not possessed govern- 
ing power and authority in Protestantism; but men have 
usurped that place and prescribed authoritative rules of 
faith and practise for the people. While they will not 
for a moment allow the blessed Bible to be hidden out of 
sight — put into a grave — still they will not allow it that 
place it should occupy as the sole discipline of faith — it 
is a dead letter to them. Let a true minister of righteous- 
ness step into the pulpit of almost any Protestant de- 
nomination and preach a straight sermon on the Bible 
doctrine of divine healing of the body, and he would be 
instantly expelled from their midst or looked upon as a 
fanatic or heretic. Why? Not because the Bible makes 
a man a heretic for preaching the Word by the Spirit of 
God, but because their man-made discipline by which 
they are governed does not teach the entire Word. That 
all-glorious doctrine of Bible unity, which fills the whole 
New Testament, has no place whatever in the Babel of 
sects, for it strikes a death-blow to all these carnal divi- 
sions and institutions, and with one accord all sectarians 
unite in fighting it. "Oh, the good old blessed Bible ! we 
could not do without it," say they; yet, as everybody 
knows, they are governed by the disciplines and laws 
that they or their representatives have formulated. Thus, 



364 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

the Word and Spirit of God are brought out into th« 
public gaze, only to be treated with such indignity in 
God's sight, and killed; while infidels look on and 
tauntingly remark, "Either the religion of today is no 
Christianity, or the Bible is a lie." 

In the beginning of this dispensation the church of 
God not only consisted of all those who were spiritual, 
but constituted a visible, organic body as well, made up 
of numerous local congregations that were separate in 
the management of their local affairs, yet interrelated 
with each other, and were directed by humble pastors, 
who were, in reference to each other, equal. The Word 
of God was their only discipline, and the Spirit of God, 
their great Teacher and Guide. Thus, the two witnesses 
were active in their official position, in the public view, 
as the Vicars, or Governors, of God's shurch upon earth. 
When, however, men usurped the place of these Vicars 
by ignoring the Spirit and rejecting the Word and mak- 
ing their own rules of faith, the effect was a national 
hierarchy — the church of Rome, which for twelve hun- 
dred and sixty years stood in the public view. Yet the 
two witnesses were still alive, though driven into ob- 
security and "clothed in sackcloth" ; for they still acted in 
their official position in the congregations of the medieval 
Christians already referred to, who resisted the doctrines 
of men and to the best of their light and knowledge clung 
tenaciously to the simple, primitive form of church gov- 
ernment and allowed the Spirit and Word authority 
supreme. 

But during the Protestant era Christians the world 
over became indentified with the various sects, hence 



THE PROTESTANT ERA, 365 

represented to the world the beast-power instead of the 
true church. Thus, during the Protestant period, the 
church of God, in its organic form, was not represented 
in any particular numbers anywhere on the earth; for 
its members were scattered among those who were "wor- 
shiping the beast and his image." Hence during this era 
the two witnesses had no place to operate in their official 
capacity as the Governors of God's church and are there- 
fore represented as slain. The government of Protestant 
sects is not effected by the Word and Spirit; for the in- 
stitutions themselves are of human origin, and men are 
their lawmakers and governors. 

In the description before us in chapter 11, this city 
in which the two witnesses are slain is "spiritually [or 
mystically] called Sodom and Egypt, where also our 
Lord was crucified." It is a mystical Sodom, Egypt, and 
Jerusalem — a Sodom for wickedness and lewdness, an 
Egypt for the captivity and oppression of God's people, 
and a Jerusalem for the crucifying of the Son of God 
afresh and putting him to an open shame. Thus, this 
city mystically combines the wickedness of the three most 
wicked places on the earth — Sodom, Egypt, and Jeru- 
salem. These facts we shall notice more particularly 
hereafter. 

LENGTH OF PROTESTANT ERA— PROPHETIC TIME. 

"And after three days and an half the Spirit of life 
from God entered into them, and they stood upon their 
feet; and great fear fell upon them which saw them" 
(verse 11). This indicates a great spiritual reformation 
at the end of the three and one-half day period, the 



366 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

nature of which we shall show, with additional proofs, 
in the next chapter of the present work. But the point 
of importance just now is the fact that these three and 
one-half days cover the length of the reign of the beast 
which came up at the expiration of the 1260-year period; 
or, in other words, the Protestant period. Now, as we 
have shown, the 1260-year reign of the first beast, or 
papacy, ended in 1530, when organized Protestantism 
arose. This last date, then, marks the beginning of the 
period signified by the three and one-half days ; while the 
period is to be succeeded by a reformation that will undo 
the bad work of Protestantism; for the two witnesses will 
then be raised. 

But what is the length of the period symbolized by 
these three and one-half days ? Evidently not three and 
one-half natural days; nor yet are they year-days, ac- 
cording to the ordinary prophetic time; for the reign of 
Protestantism has been longer than three and one-half 
natural years. The facts oblige us to look for another 
explanation. 

The time-prophecies of the Bible are by no means 
confined to the year-day manner of interpretation. Many 
times in the Old Testament the expression occurs, "And 
it shall come to pass in that day," which expression is 
admitted by all to have reference to the gospel day, or 
the entire gospel dispensation. No one supposes that a 
short period of only one week was specified when the 
church of Philadelphia was promised deliverance from 
the hour of temptation that was to come upon all the 
world (Rev. 3:10). The rulers of the ten kingdoms 
were "to receive power as kings one hour with the beast" 



THE PROTESTANT ERA. 367 

(Rev. 17:12); this "one hour" really covered many 
years. 

At this juncture the question may be asked, "Why, 
then, is the length of the reign of the second beast stated 
definitely as three and one-half days?" To this I reply, 
Probably because of similarity and analogy. The second 
beast is in many respects like the first beast, and even 
make an image to the first beast. Now, the length of 
the reign of the first beast is given as forty-two months, 
which is exactly three and one-half years; therefore it 
is appropriate that the reign of the second beast, its 
son and successor, made in its own likeness, should be 
represented as three and one-half days — an analogous 
period of time. 

Historically, the reign of Protestantism, from A. D. 
1530, has been exactly three and one-half centuries; 
for in the year 1880 a mighty holiness reformation was 
begun, and it is now sweeping over the earth, gathering 
together the people of God from their scattered con- 
dition in sect-Babylon; and in the church of God the 
two witnesses are at last restored to their official and 
original position as Governors of God's people. This 
work we shall notice more particularily in the following 
chapter, showing also the special prophecies of the 
Revelation which describe it. 

The general trend of events following the reformation 
of Protestantism naturally divides the succeeding centu- 
ries into separate periods. The first (sixteenth) was a 
fierce conflict for the establishment of Protestantism ; the 
second (seventeenth) was a violent reaction, wherein the 
church of Rome nearly triumphed over her hated op- 



368 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

posers; while the third (eighteenth) is specially noted in 
history as the period of infidelity, or so-called reason. 
The division of time was so noticeable that D'Aubigne, 
who wrote about 1835, refers to it in the following re- 
markable language: "It has been said that the three 
last centuries, the sixteenth, the seventeenth, and the 
eighteenth, may be conceived as an immense battle of 
three days* duration. We willingly adopt this beautiful 

comparison The first day was the battle of God, 

the second the battle of the priest, the third the battle of 
reason. What will be the fourth? In our opinion, the 
confused strife, the deadly contest of all these powers 
together, TO END IN THE VICTORY OF HIM TO 
WHOM TRIUMPH BELONGS." 

— History of the Reformation, Book XI, Chap. IX. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

THE LAST REFORMATION. 

In the two preceding chapters we have explained the 
first and second beasts of Revelation 13, showing that 
they symbolize two great systems of religion — Roman 
Catholicism and Protestantism. But the same twofold 
form of the apostasy is also described in other parts of 
Revelation under the general term BABYLON, as we 
shall now show; and in this connection a final reforma- 
tion is also predicted. 

A REFORMATION PREDICTED. 

In the seventeenth chapter of Revelation, to which 
reference has already been made, a beast with seven 
heads and ten horns is brought to view, agreeing with 
the first beast of chapter 13. Here it refers to the West- 
ern Roman Empire under the papal form; while the 
papal church is symbolized by a corrupt woman seated 
upon this beast and directing its course. Outwardly the 
woman, richly adorned, presented a splendid appearance, 
but her true character was symbolized by the contents of 
the golden cup she held in her hand, it being "full of 
abominations and filthiness of her fornication." "And 
upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, 
BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF 
HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE 
EARTH" (chap. 17:3-5). 

The remaining verses of the chapter describe the 
manner in which the beast should support the woman 



370 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

for ages, after which the ten horns (or minor kingdoms) 
should turn against her, "and shall make her desolate 
and naked, and shall eat her flesh and burn her with 
fire. For God hath put it in their hearts to fulfil his 
will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the 
beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled/* (verses 
16, 17). That Rome possessed and exercised this tem- 
poral power during many centuries all historians know, 
and the last part of this prediction was fulfilled when 
King Victor Emmanuel entered Rome in 1870 and es- 
tablished the free government of United Italy, at which 
time the last vestige of the pope's temporal power was 
forever lost. 

This brings us to another point. We have already 
seen that the ecclesiastical dominion of the first beast 
of Revalation 13 continued for 1260 years — from A. D. 
270 to A. D. 1530, when his spiritual supremacy was 
broken by the Reformation and the rise of Protestant 
ism. But in chapter 17 the woman is the churi-h (of 
Rome), while the beast is the civil power, the one sup- 
porting the other. Now, this interrelation of the civil 
with the ecclesiastical power continued for ages. From 
a very early period the popes of Rome began to claim 
absolute dominion and authority, temporal as well as 
spiritual; but of course for a long time they were not 
able to secure the full realization of these ambitions. 
As early as the fifth century, however, their irnuence 
was being strongly exerted in political affairs, as is 
shown by the fact that when Attila with his fierce Huns 
threatened Rome the Emperor Valentinian requested 
pope Leo the Great to intervene; and the pope met the 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 371 

invader and secured the evacuation of Italy. After the 
downfall of the Western empire, when the head was 
as it were wounded to death (Rev. 13:3), the popes 
had considerable power in this respect. 

In the year A. D. 606 Emperor Phocas conferred the 
title "Universal Bishop" upon the pope of Rome. When 
we consider the ambitions of the popes to obtain uni- 
versal dominion, both spiritual and temporal, such recog- 
nition from the emperor of the East (coming at a time 
when there was no strong, settled civil power in the 
West) is significant. It is not likely that Phocas had 
any intention of advancing the pope's claims to tem- 
poral rule; nevertheless such official recognition had its 
influence. In the next century when Pepin subverted 
the Lombard kingdom in Italy (756) and gave a large 
part of their dominion to Rome, the pope actually 
became a temporal ruler. Temporal power was claimed 
and to a considerable degree exercised in a rather in- 
direct way before this time, but this was the pope's 
first acquisition of territory. And when Charlemagne 
confirmed this grant of his father Pepin, the pope in 
grateful return publicly crowned Charlemagne in St. 
Peters as the Emperor of Rome, thus reviving the empire 
of the West under its "eighth" head, in which form it is 
portrayed as the beast of Revelation 17. But the pope 
was recognized as having this dominion before ; there- 
fore he could bestow it upon whomsoever he chose. 

Now, the time that elapsed between the date when 
the pope received this official recognition from Phocas, 
in A. D. 606, to the time when the last vestige of his 
temporal power was lost in A. D. 1870, was approxi- 



372 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

mately 1260 years also. Though the 1260 years of 
spiritual supremacy ended in 1530, when the second 
beast of Revelation 13 arose, yet the beast himself did 
not end then. For this reason we read concerning the 
second beast, or Protestantism, "And he exercised all 
the power of the first beast before him" (chap. 13: 12). 
This same fact is conveyed in chapter 17, where the ten 
horns are represented as turning against the woman. 
These have done so one by one; and the pope's do- 
minion as a temporal ruler ended completely in A. D. 
1870. And this last event answers to the fifth vial of 
wrath in Rev. 16: 10, 11: "And the fifth angel poured 
out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom 
was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues 
for pain, and blasphemed the God of heaven because 
of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their 
deeds." So this last date, 1870, marks the time when the 
woman was indeed made "desolate and naked," the time 
when "the words of God shall be fulfilled." Now observe : 

"And after these things I saw another angel come down 
from heaven having great power; and the earth was 
lightened with his glory. And he cried mightily with 
a strong voice, saying, Babylon the great is fallen, is 
fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the 
hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean 
and hateful bird. For all nations have drunk of the wine 
of the wrath of her fornication And I heard an- 
other voice from heaven, saying, COME OUT OF HER, 
MY PEOPLE, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and 
that ye receive not of her plagues" (Rev. 18: 1-4). 

A spiritual movement of mighty power is symbolized 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 873 

in these verses; and as it was to take place after the 
fulfilment of the things described in chapter 17, it 
could not take place before the year 1 870, when the tem- 
poral power of the pope ceased. This movement agrees 
with the sixth vial of Rev. 16: 12, which vial was poured 
out "upon the great river Euphrates, and the water 
thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the 
East might be prepared." In this allusion is made to 
the capture of literal Babylon by Cyrus, who diverted 
the Euphrates from its bed in order to accomplish his 
purpose, and whose victory thus gained resulted finally 
in the liberation of the Jews from their Babylonish 
captivity. So also this spiritual movement in Revela- 
tion 18 calls forth the people of God from spiritual 
Babylon, which is "fallen." 

By comparison it will be seen that this movement 
synchronizes with the movement symbolized by the resur- 
rection of the two witnesses in chapter 11, which event 
took place after the 350-year reign of Protestantism, 
or, in other words, A. D. 1880. Moreover, the term 
"Babylon," as we shall show clearly from the prophecies 
themselves, included both forms of the apostasy, Papal 
and Protestant; and therefore this reformation, or heav- 
enly movement against Babylon, properly occurs at 
the expiration of the prophetic time marking the Prot- 
estant era. 

WHAT BABYLON INCLUDES. 

Protestants generally endeavor to limit the designa- 
tion "Babylon the Great" in the verses quoted to the 
church of Rome, because the woman symbolizing the 
apostate church in the preceding chapter is denominated 



374 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"Babylon the Great" (verse 5). But the same verse also 
declares her to be the "mother of harlots"; and if she 
as a degraded woman stands as the representative of 
a corrupt church, her unchaste daughters must at least 
symbolize churches that are her descendants; and if the 
real name of the mother is Babylon, as stated, the proper 
name of her harlot daughters must be Babylon also. 
Whether, therefore, the mother or the daughters are men- 
tioned in a given instance, the reference is to "Babylon," 
because it is all the same family, connected with that 
"GREAT CITY which reigneth over the kings of the 
earth" (chap. 17: 18). 

But the term "Babylon" doubtless has even a more 
extensive application even than papacy and protestant- 
ism. So far as the papacy in connection with civil 
power is concerned, that was well represented by the 
symbol of the first beast in Revelation 13; therefore, it 
seems to me, there must be some special reason for giv- 
ing another representation of this great fact here in 
chapter 17. Here the woman, representing the papacy, 
is termed specifically "Babylon the Great." Why is 
she pointed out comparatively as "the Great"? Verse 18 
says that she is "that great city, which reigneth over 
the kings of the earth.'* 

It must be evident to all that in this designation clear 
reference is made to the great city of Babylon in the 
olden times. But while ancient Babylon was a "great 
city," it was also more than a city — it was a country 
and empire, containing many cities, over which the city 
of Babylon itself — "the great city" — bore rule. And 
while Babylon the capital was the mother city of the 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 375 

empire, all the other cities were as truly Babylon as 
was she; for they were an integral part of the empire, 
only they were of less importance. 

Now, here in the Revelation we have the antitype of 
this ancient Babylon. The leading feature of the whole 
scene is the capital city itself — "Babylon the Great"; 
but we must not become so absorbed in viewing her 
splendid adornments that we forget that she is in fact 
a mother city — "mother of harlots and abominations 
of the earth" — and that her influence extends to all 
parts of the great empire of Babylon. In other words, 
the mother city is but one feature of the great Babylon. 
Other cities there are in the empire, with their respec- 
tive "kings" and institutions, but Babylon "the Great" 
is the capital of all. And if the capital city represents 
an apostate church, the church of Rome, then the other 
cities with which she is compared represent also other 
apostate churches of like character. 

In chapter XVII of the present work we saw that 
the pure light of the primitive gospel was succeeded 
by a great universal apostasy which overspread the 
earth, East and West. This was "the wilderness" in- 
to which the woman, or pure church, fled (Rev. 12: 14). 
This apostasy was not confined to Rome in the West, 
but "affected the church universal," as Dowling said; 
and this wilderness was to hold the woman as in cap- 
tivity, just as the ancient literal Babylon held the Israel- 
ites in captivity. Out of this great apostasy, or Babylon 
state, arose into prominence certain "cities," or fallen 
churches, with "Babylon the Great" or the papacy in 
the West, leading in importance and exercising rule 



376 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

over the rest. Therefore from the same original source 
we have in the East Greek Orthodox, Gregorian (Ar- 
menian), Nestorian, Old Syrian, Maronite (later allied 
with the papal), Abyssinian and Coptic churches, with 
their subdivisions, as churches of the same great apos- 
tasy. For centuries the influence of Rome was exerted 
over this part of the world; but in the fifth and sixth 
centuries were established those national churches which 
arose as a protest against the decisions of the councils 
of Ephesus and Chalcedon — Nestorian, Armenian, Old 
Syrian, Coptic, and Abyssinian. The final separation 
between the Greek and the Latin church (or the East 
and the West) took place, however, in the eleventh 
century. 

The papal church was Babylon the Great; while all 
these other cities, or churches, were simply Babylon the 
less: and since Rome was the greatest in extent and in- 
fluence — the leading church of all the churches of the 
apostasy — she stands in the prophecies specially sym- 
bolized as the "mother" city. In fact, she stands as 
the representative of the entire Babylon in whatsoever 
form; in other words, "Babylon the Great" symbolically 
covers the whole empire of Babylon. 

Since the gospel was first planted in the East, it may 
be that the Greek and the Gregorian churches will object 
to being classed as "daughters/' with the papacy lead- 
ing as the "mother." Will either of them be willing, 
then, to take the place of Rome and be reckoned as the 
"mother of harlots," with Rome as one of their daugh- 
ters? The relationship, it seems to me, is not very good 
in either case. 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 377 

Later, in the West, Rome secured a greater acquire- 
ment of "daughters" when Protestantism arose. 

A careful study of the prophecy in Rev. 18:1-4 (now 
under consideration) in connection with its parallel 
prophecy in chap. 14: 8-10, shows that it has particular 
reference to the Protestant division of Babylon. The 
reason for this is clear — because she contains far the 
greater proportion of God's people. Under the reign 
of Catholicism the people of God are represented in all 
the symbols of the Revelation relating thereto as exist- 
ing separate from that communion. In fact, the descrip- 
tion of this apostate church given in the seventeenth 
chapter shows clearly that instead of being partly com- 
posed of God's saints, she was their most bitter and 
relentless persecutor, yea, was "drunken with the blood 
of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Je- 
sus." This is definite proof that the present phase of 
Babylon under consideration is the Protestant division; 
and her moral fall and the special message from heaven 
are the grand signal for the escape of God's people 
who have partly composed her number, as the fall of 
ancient Babylon was the signal for the escape of the 
Israelites. In their younger days the Protestant organi- 
zations ("daughters") were of better character than 
the mother church from which they descended. Many 
of them started out on reform. While the people of a 
movement were spiritual, God worked with them; but 
when they made their image to the beast, they suddenly 
declined ; and this voice from heaven finally declares that 
the sects are in a fallen condition and that the people 
of God therein must come out. 



378 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ADMITTED BY PROTESTANTS- 

That this application of the term "Babylon," includ- 
ing Protestantism, is correct, and also that the fallen 
condition ascribed to her is in accordance with the facts, 
I will prove by the following testimonies of Protestants 
themselves. The first is from "Vision of the Ages; or, 
Lectures on the Apocalypse," by B. W. Johnson, mem- 
ber of the Christian sect. 

"It is needful to inquire what the term 'Babylon' 
means. It occurs several times in the New Testament. 
Here [in the Apocalypse] it is spoken of as 'that great 
city,' and her fall is doomed 'because she hath made all 
nations drunk with the wine of her fornication.' In 
Rev. 17: 5, a scarlet harlot is seen sitting upon the seven- 
headed and ten-horned monster, and upon her forehead is 
written, 'Mystery, Babylon the Great.' With this woman 
the kings of the earth are said to have committed forni- 
cation. In chapter 18 the fall of the great city Baby- 
lon is detailed at length, and it is again said that all 
the kings of the earth have committed fornication 
with her. The harlot with Babylon stamped on her brow, 
and the great city of fornication styled Babylon, in chap- 
ters 14 and 18, are one and the same existence. 

"There is an ancient city of Babylon often mentioned 
in the Old Testament, but ages before John wrote, it 
had ceased to be inhabited, the only dwellers among its 
lonely ruins were howling beasts and hissing serpents. 
It has never been rebuilt to this day and has passed 
away forever. John refers therefore not to old Baby- 
lon, but to some power yet unseen (when he was upon 
the earth), that should be revealed in due time, and of 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 379 

which old Babylon was a symbol. Let us notice some 
of the features of ancient Babylon. 

"1. On that site took place the confusion of tongues 
which divided those who before had been one speech 
and one family into various tribes and schisms at vari- 
ance with each other and of various tongues. The word 
'Babylon/ a memorial of this event, means confusion, 
and is derived from Babel. 

"2. Old Babylon persecuted the people of God and 
destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. 

"3. It carried the people of God into captivity. 

"4. It was a mighty, restless universal empire. The 
antitype, the spiritual Babylon, must correspond. There 
is a power that exhibits all these characteristics. . By 
apostasy from the truth it originated the schism which 
has divided the family of God into different sects and 
parties which speak a different spiritual language. It has 
carried the church into a long captivity by binding upon it 
the thraldom of superstition. It has been a constant 
persecutor of the saints, and has enjoyed an almost 
universal dominion. That power is the woman that 
sits upon the seven-headed beast .... the false woman, 
symbolical of a false church, the great apostate spirit- 
ual dominion of Rome. And we may add, out of which 
have come — directly or indirectly — all the religious 
sects of the present day." 

Dr. Barnes says: "The word 'Babylon' became the 
emblem of all that was haughty and oppressive, and es- 
pecially of all that persecuted the church of God. The 
word here [Rev. 18:4] must be used to denote some 
power that resembled the ancient and literal Babylon 



380 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

in these characteristics. The literal Babylon was no 
more; but the name might be used properly to denote 
a similar power." 

Wm. Kincaid, in "Bible Doctrine," page 249, says: 
"I think Christ has a true church upon earth, but its 
members are scattered among the various denomina- 
tions, and are more or less under the influence of mystery 
Babylon and her daughters." 

Alexander Campbell says: "The worshiping estab- 
lishments now in operation throughout Christendom, in- 
creased and cemented by their respective voluminous 
confessions of faith, and their ecclesiastical constitutions, 
are not churches of Jesus Christ, but the legitimate 
daughters of that mother of harlots, the church of Rome." 

Lorenzo Dow says of the Romish church: "If she be 
the mother, who are the daughters? It must be the cor- 
rupt, national, established churches that came out of 
her," 

In the "Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge" we 
read: "An important question, however, says Mr. Jones, 
still remains for inquiry: Is Antichrist confined to the 
church of Rome? The answer is readily returned in the 
affirmative by Protestants in general; and happy had 
it been for the world had that been the case. But al- 
though we are fully warranted to consider that church 
as the 'mother of harlots/ the truth is that by whatso- 
ever arguments we succeed in fixing that odious charge 
upon her, we shall, by parity of reasoning, be obliged 
to allow other national churches to be her unchaste 
daughters, and for this plain reason, among others, be- 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 381 

cause in their very constitution and tendency the/ are 
hostile to the nature of the kingdom of Christ." 

Mr. Hartly, a learned churchman, has remarked as 
follows: "There are many prophecies which declare the 
fall of the ecclesiastical powers of the Christian world, 
and though each church seems to natter itself with the 
hope of being exempted, yet it is very plain that the 
prophetical characters belong to all. They have left 
the true, pure, simple religion, and teach for doctrines 
the commandments of men." 

Says Mr. Simpson in "Plea for Religion": "We 
Protestants, too, read the declaration of the third angel 
against the worshipers of the beast and his image, and 
make ourselves easy under the awful denunciation by 
applying it exclusively to the church of Rome; nevei 
dreaming that they are equally applicable not only to 
the English, but to every church establishment in Chris- 
tendom, which retains any of the marks of the beast. 
For though the pope and the church of Rome is at the 
head of the grand twelve hundred and sixty years' delu- 
sion, yet all other churches of whatever denomination, 
whether established or tolerated, which partake of the 
same spirit, or have instituted doctrines and ceremonies 
inimical to the pure and unadulterated gospel of Christ, 
shall sooner or later share in the fate of that immense 
fabric of human ordinances." 

Says Mr. Hopkins: "There is no reason to consider 
the antichristian spirit and practises confined to that 
which is now called the church of Rome. The Protestant 
churches have much of Antichrist in them, and are far 
from being wholly reformed from the corruptions and 



382 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

wickedness, in doctrine and practise, in it. Some churches 
may be more pure and may have proceeded farther 
in a reformation than others; but where can the church 
be found [that is, the sectarian church], which is thor- 
oughly purged from her abominations? None are wholly 
clear from an antichristian spirit and the fruits of it ... . 
And as the Church of Rome will have a large share in 
the cup of indignation and wrath which will be poured 
out, so all the Christian world will have a distinguished 
portion of it: as the inhabitants of it are much more 
guilty than others. There is great reason to conclude 
that the world, particularly that part of it called Chris- 
tian and Protestant, will yet make greater and more 
rapid advances in all kinds of moral corruption and open 
wickedness, till it will come to that state in which it 
will be fully ripe and prepared to be cut down by the 
sickle of divine justice and wrath." 

Mr. O. Scott (Wesleyan Methodist) says: "The church 
is as deeply infected with a desire for worldly gain 
as the world. Most of the denominations of the present 
day might be called churches of the world, with more 
propriety than churches of Christ. The churches have 
so far gone from primitive Christianity that they need 
a fresh regeneration — a new kind of religion." 

Robert Atkins, in a sermon preached in London, says: 
"The truly righteous are diminished from the earth, 
and no man layeth it to heart. The professors of re- 
ligion of the present day, in every church, are lovers 
of the world, conformers to the world. Lovers of crea- 
ture comfort, and aspirers after respectability. They 
are called to suffer with Christ, but they shrink even 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 383 

from reproach. Apostasy, apostasy, APOSTASY, is 
engraven on the very front of every church; and did 
they know it, and did they feel it, there might be hope; 
but alas ! they cry, 'We are rich, and increased in goods, 
and stand in need of nothing.' " 

This list might be greatly extended; but this is suf- 
ficient to show, upon the testimony of Protestants them- 
selves, that their churches are a part of Babylon and are 
spiritually in a fallen condition. Then, may God help 
the honest-hearted everywhere to hear the call of heaven 
and "come out of her." 

TESTIMONY OF THE WORD. 

But let us appeal to the prophecies to show definitely 
that this heavenly cry against Babylon really includes 
Protestantism also. 

Returning to the thirteenth chapter of Revelation, we 
again observe that Catholicism is symbolized by the 
first beast, and Protestantism, by the second beast, 
whose religious forms and institutions constitute an image 
to the first beast. Therefore we have in that chapter 
the twofold form of the apostasy — Papal and Protes- 
tant. Now, immediately following, in the fourteenth 
chapter, we have a parallel and strikingly contrasted 
description of the true people of God. They are follow- 
ing the Lamb, not wandering after the beast. They are 
marked by having their "Father's name written in their 
foreheads," not with the mark and name of the beast. 
They are worshiping Christ and giving glory to him, 
not bowing down before the beast or his image. And 
while under the reign of the second beast the whole 



384 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Word of God did not have free course, since none could 
"buy or sell" it except as he possessed the mark, the 
name, or number of the beast; thank God! we have here 
clearly predicted, THE LAST REFORMATION, in 
which the whole truth is presented to the world. "And 
I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having 
the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell 
on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, 
and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give 
glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: 
and worship him [not the beast or his image] that made 
heaven and earth" (Rev. 14:6, 7). 

BABYLON IS FALLEN. 

This restoration of the pure gospel after the reign of 
the two beasts also synchronizes with the resurrection 
of the two witnesses in chapter 1 1 . and began, therefore, 
in the year A. D. 1880. But this is not all of the mes- 
sage; for the same light that reveals the pure word of 
Heaven's truth, reveals also the fallen condition of sect- 
Babylon. "And there followed another angel, saying, 
Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she 
made all nations drunk of the wine of the wrath of her 
fornication. And the third angel followed them, say- 
ing with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast 
and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or 
in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath 
of God, which is poured out without mixture into the 
cup of his indignation" (Rev. 14:8-10). This fall is 
a moral one, as in chapter 18. 

Here we find that the heavenly message against Baby- 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 385 

Ion, "that great city," is directed against both the beast 
and his image. Now, the "image" was made by the second 
beast, or Protestantism (chap. 13: 14) ; therefore the com- 
mand to come out of Babylon applies to those who are 
in Protestantism. 

GOD'S PEOPLE CALLED OUT. 

Notice, also, that the message of these last two an- 
gels are the same, and are in the same order, as those 
in chap. 18:1-4, already noticed. The first one cries, 
"Babylon is fallen, is fallen" (verse 8). The next one 
warns the people against worshiping the beast or his 
image, upon the terrible penalty of receiving the wrath 
of God. So also in chapter 18. The first angel cries, 
"Babylon the Great is fallen, is fallen" (verse 2). 
Then is heard "another voice from heaven, saying, 
COME OUT OF HER, MY PEOPLE, that ye be not 
partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her 
plagues" (verse 4.). 

The Revelator describes also the result of this message ; 
for in chapter 15 he says, "And I saw as it were a sea 
of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten 
the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over 
his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the 
sea of glass having the harps of God. And they sing 
the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of 
the Lamb, saying Great and marvelous are thy works 
Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou 
King of saints" (verses 2, 3). 

While the woman, or pure church, in the morning of 
this dispensation was driven "into the wilderness," we 



386 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

thank God that she was not always to remain there; 
and in this last reformation she is coming forth out of 
the great wilderness of the apostasy and, as the bride of 
Christ, is returning to Zion. "Who is this that cometh 
up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?" 
(Songs of Sol. 8:5). "Who is this that looketh forth 
as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and 
terrible as an army with banners?" (Songs of Sol. 6: 
10). Answer: It is the church of God. 

But the Revelation is not the only prophecy that de- 
scribes this last reformation. Zechariah clearly predicts 
it thus: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the 
light shall not be clear nor dark: but it shall be one day 
which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: 
but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall 
be light" (Zech. 14:6, 7). I will give this verse as 
rendered in the Septuagint Version, for it is clearer: 
"And it shall come to pass in that day [the papal day] 
that there shall be no light: and there shall be for one 
day [the Protestant day] cold and frost; and that day 
shall be known to the Lord ; it shall not be day nor night 
[a mixture of light and darkness] : but towards eve- 
ning it shall be light.'* Thank God for the light of the 
evening time ! 

So also Daniel in prophetic vision saw the rise of the 
papacy (chap. 7) and the long reign of darkness and 
apostasy in the Christian dispensation (chap. 12). He de- 
sired to understand the matter, therefore made inquiry. I 
quote from the Septuagint: "When will be the end 
of the wonders which thou hast mentioned? And I heard 
the man clothed in linen, who was over the water of 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 387 

the river, and he lifted up his right hand and his left 
hand to heaven, and sware by him that lives forever, 
that it should be for a time of times and half a time: 
when the dispersion is ended they shall know all these 
things" (Dan. 12:6, 7). 

"A time and times and the dividing of time" is the 
same prophetic period of forty-two months, or 1260 
years, the reign of the papacy. This was followed by 
a period of "dispersion," and such Protestantism has 
been; for the people of God have been scattered in 
hundreds of bodies. But thank God ! this dispersion was 
to be ended sometime, when the people of God should 
receive light and knowledge, yea "know all these things." 

"And I heard, but I understood not: and said I, O 
Lord, what will be the end of these things ? And he said, 
Go, Daniel: for the words are closed and sealed up to 
the time of the end" (verses 8, 9). At the "time of the 
end" the people of God were to understand "all these 
things," because of their having been fulfilled; and also 
at this time the dispersal of God's saints was to come 
to an end. This predicts THE LAST REFORMA- 
TION, and the nature of its work is shown in the fol- 
lowing verses: "Many must be CHOSEN OUT, and 
thoroughly whitened, and tried with -fire, and sancti- 
fied" (verse 10). Oh halleluiah! 

This same spiritual movement is predicted also by the 
prophet Ezekiel. In chapter 34 he describes the people 
of God under the figure of sheep. "And ye my flock, 
the flock of my pasture, are men" (verse 31). These 
sheep of the Lord are represented as oppressed, driven 
away, abused, and scattered by false shepherds, or 



388 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

preachers; yea, God says, "My sheep wandered through 
all the mountains, and upon every high hill [from one 
sect to another] ; yea, my flock was scattered upon all 
the face of the earth" (verse 6). 

Read carefully the chapter itself. It is a perfect 
picture of the experiences of God's people scattered 
during the dark and cloudy day of Protestantism. But 
the work of final reformation is predicted in verses 11, 
12: "For thus saith the Lord God; behold I, even I, 
will both search my sheep, and seek them out. As a 
shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among 
his sheep that are scattered ; so will I seek out my sheep, 
and wilt deliver them out of all places where they have 
been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.*' 

The people of God can not retain their spiritual life 
and remain longer in these places. Babylon is now 
fallen, and those who remain there will fall too. To stay 
there, yoked up with the multitudes of godless and grace- 
less professors of religion, who are lovers of this world, 
means to lose spiritual life and finally to lose your soul. 
Listen to the Word of God: "Be ye not unequally 
yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship 
hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what 
communion hath light with darkness? .... Wherefore 
COME OUT FROM AMONG THEM, and be ye sepa- 
rate, SAITH THE LORD, and touch not the unclean 
thing; and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto 
you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the 
Lord Almighty" (2 Cor. 6:14-18). 

The call of God in this last reformation is to come 
out of sect-Babylon, for she is fallen, fallen. Reader, 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 889 

have you heard this voice from heaven? Says one: "I 
do not believe in this." Jesus says, "Ye believe not, be- 
cause ye are not of my sheep .... My sheep hear my 
voice, and I know them, AND THEY FOLLOW ME" 
(John 10:26, 27). These are the ones spoken of by 
the Lord through the prophet Ezekiel: "So will I seek 
out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places 
where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark 
day" (Ezek. 34:12). 

"The evening sun is shining; the cloudy day is past; 
The time of our repining is at an end at last. 
The voice of God is calling to unity again; 
Division walls are falling, with all the creeds of men. 

' ' Back to the one foundation, from sects and creeds made free, 
Come saints of every nation to blessed unity. 
Once more the ancient glory shines as in days of old, 
And tells the wondrous story— one God, one faith, one fold." 

THEY ARE CALLED TO ZION. 

Now, when the people of God hear this heavenly 
message to come out of sect-Babylon, and they obey, 
where shall they go? Shall they wander around, inde- 
pendently of each other, over the spiritual deserts of the 
earth ? No ! Let the Word of God settle this point. The 
experiences of natural Israel under the Old Testament 
dispensation is in many respects a type of the experien- 
ces of God's spiritual Israel or church in the New Tes- 
tament dispensation. As Israel was led captive to literal 
Babylon, so the church has been held captive in spirit- 
ual Babylon. As literal Babylon was overthrown, and 
the Jews made their escape; so spiritual Babylon "is 
fallen, fallen," and God's people are commanded to 
"come out of her." What did literal Israel do when 



390 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

they came out of Babylon? Answer: They made their 
way in a body direct to Mount Zion, where formerly 
stood in magnificent glory the temple of Jehovah; and 
they began at once the work of restoration under the 
direction and the approval of God. And the work at 
Jerusalem prospered, because "the people had a mind 
to work" (Neh. 4:6). 

Thus shall it be with those who make their escape 
from spiritual Babylon: "The ransomed of the Lord 
shall return, and COME TO ZION with songs and ever- 
lasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and 
gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away" (Isa. 
35: 10). This means the restoration of a pure church, 
or temple of God, as in apostolic days; a church dedi- 
cated by the Holy Spirit and filled with the power and 
glory of God. 

This restoration is now being effected by the truly 
spiritual, who have a "mind to work," yea, are "workers 
together with God." The unity of all the saved was 
the apostolic condition ; and now the special message of 
God is, "Gather my saints together unto me." When 
this is accomplished, it can be said, as of old, "Out of 
Zion, the perfection of beauty, God hath shined" (Psa. 
50:5, 2). Some men, Sanballat-like, may at first pre- 
tend to want to help, then afterward try to hinder the 
restoration; but the work goes forward nevertheless. 
It is a twofold work — the gathering of God's people 
"in their own land" and the restoration of the temple, 
or church of God in its pure state. "He that is not with 
me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me 
scattereth abroad" (Matt. 12:30). 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 391 

Reader, God's work in this period of the world is 
a gathering work. He is delivering his people out of 
all the places where they have been scattered. If you 
do not have a "mind to work" with God in this reforma- 
tion of Heaven's truth, are not gathering with him, you 
are against God, and may he help you to realize it and 
feel it. To oppose God's work is to oppose him; and 
all such opposers will be left outside of heaven, unless 
they repent and are baptized by his Spirit into the one 
body, which only is the church. "He that is of God 
heareth God's words." "Whosoever transgresseth, and 
abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He 
that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the 
Father and the Son" (2 John 9). 

"Have you heard a voice from heaven 

Calling in a solemn tone, 
'Come, my people, from confusion; 

This is not your native home?' 
Yes, I heard, and to my vision 

Zion's glory brightly shone; 
Then I rose and fled the ruin, 

Taking not a Babel stone.' ' 

THE PRESENT-DAY REFORMATION. 
In exact fulfilment of these prophecies God began 
in A. D. 1880 to raise up a holy ministry to send forth 
his word against sect-Babylon, calling his people out, 
and through them began restoring the church as in apos- 
tolic days. The creeds and doctrines of men were ig- 
nored, and the cry, "Back to the blessed old Bible," 
sounded forth. Multitudes of the redeemed everywhere 
have heard the voice of God calling to unity again, and 



392 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

have forsaken sect-Babylon, and they are now unified 
in one body, according to the Word. 

In the same year, 1880, was begun the publication of 
The Gospel Trumpet, which is a weekly holiness journal 
devoted exclusively to the promulgation of this heavenly 
message. It is published by the Gospel Trumpet Com- 
pany, Anderson, Indiana, U. S. A. At this printing- 
office many religious books and tracts, and a number of 
periodicals in addition to The Gospel Trumpet, are sent 
forth by the thousands and by the tons to all parts of 
the world. These are prepared by a host of consecrated 
men and women, all of whom devote their time without 
salary to the work of spreading the gospel in this way. 
In various parts of the world periodicals, books, and 
tracts containing this same glorious message are now pub- 
lished in different languages. 

This work of publishing literature, however, is only 
auxiliary to the church itself. Many hundreds of holy 
ministers, laboring as did the apostles of old, without 
salary, trusting the Lord to supply their needs, are at 
this hour preaching the pure Word all over the earth; 
and it is being accepted by thousands. This preaching 
appeals to the spiritual-minded everywhere, because 
it really sets forth the whole gospel. Here we find per- 
fect salvation and deliverance from the power of sin, 
with the result that pure, holy, sinless lives are led ; here 
we find entire sanctification from the inbred nature of sin, 
through the baptism of the Holy Ghost taught in the New 
Testament; when afflicted, we find healing for our bodies, 
as in the apostolic days; here we find the love, harmony 
and unity of saints in one body, as exemplified in the 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 898 

New Testament church; here we find the entire truth. 
Glory to God! And wherever it is thoroughly known 
this reformation gathers all of the saved in the one body ; 
it leaves to sect-Babylon only those worldly, graceless, 
pleasure-loving professors who "have a form of godli- 
ness, but deny the power thereof" (2 Tim. 3:5). Here 
under the preaching of the pure Word, by the power and 
inspiration of the Holy Ghost, sinners are melted to 
tears, and fall upon their faces, even in the public con- 
gregation, and cry to God for salvation. Here be- 
lievers are baptized with the Holy Spirit and streams 
of holy fire descend from heaven into the congregation 
of the saints. 

"Halleluiah saints are singing, 
Vict'ry in Jehovah 's might; 
Glory! glory! keep it ringing, 
We are saved in evening light. 

"Free from Babel, in the Spirit, 
Free to worship God aright; 
Joy and gladness we're receiving; 
Oh, how sweet this evening light ! ' ' 

A WORK DIVINELY CONFIRMED. 
The true work of God performed by his direction 
has in all ages been confirmed by special manifestations 
of divine power. Mark this fact; it is important. Truth 
is not to be determined by theory alone. "The kingdom 
of God is not in word, but in power" (1 Cor. 4:20). 
When Solomon completed his temple on Mount Zion, 
"the priests could not stand to minister because of the 
cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of 
the Lord" (1 Kings 8:11). So also at the time of its 



394 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

restoration after the captivity. When the foundations 
of the house were laid, the people "shouted with a great 
shout" (Ezra 3: 10-13). Why? Because of the promise 
of God, "I will fill this house with glory." "The glory 
of this latter house shall be greater than of the former" 
(Hag. 2:7, 9). When the New Testament church was 
fully set in order on the day of Pentecost, the sanction 
and seal of the Almighty was manifested in the glorious 
outpouring of the Holy Ghost and the performance of 
signs and wonders by the Spirit of the living God. 

Likewise in these last days, when God is restoring the 
church to its primitive condition, the work is being at- 
tested and confirmed by the manifestation of his glorious 
power. Men who are possessed with devils, men whose 
cases are as bad as those described in the New Testament 
— the poor victims lying on the floor, writhing under de- 
mon influence, foaming and frothing at the mouth, and ut- 
tering horrible cries — are delivered by the power of 
God through the ministers of this reformation, are re- 
stored to their right minds, and made to worship and 
praise God. God is indeed "confirming the word with 
signs following" (Mark 16: 20). In this work, the eyes 
of the blind have been opened, the ears of the deaf un- 
stopped, the lame made to leap as an hart, and the 
tongue of the dumb to sing. Cancer and consumption, 
rheumatism and heart-trouble, appendicitis and nervous 
prostration — these and other diseases of almost every 
description and name have been, in hundreds and thou- 
sands of instances, healed by divine power. The writer 
has himself witnessed the healing of thousands of dis- 
eases too numerous to mention. For proof of a few spe- 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 395 

cific cases, see under Personal Testimonies in the chap- 
ter of this work entitled "Divine Healing." 

That this reformation is the true reformation of God 
is therefore shown by these facts: 

1. It began at the right time — the exact time predicted 
in the prophecies. 

2. It accomplishes the very work described in these 
prophecies. 

3. It restores to the people the whole Word of God, 
and thus rests upon a solid foundation which can never 
be superseded or shaken. 

4. It restores a pure church, bearing every specific 
characteristic of the apostolic church. 

5. God has set his stamp and seal of approval upon it 
by the miraculous manifestation of his mighty power. 

TRIUMPHANT OVER THE APOSTASY. 

To witness such results, after the long reign of the 
beast and his image, is enough to start songs of rejoic- 
ing among the angels of heaven, and ought to awaken 
shouts and praises among the redeemed of earth. When 
the Israelites were in Babylonian bondage, sadly they 
hung their harps upon the willows by the river-side and 
wept when they "remembered Zion." Here they were 
tormented by their captors, who said, "Sing us one of 
the songs of Zion" ; and they answered, despairingly, 
"How shall we sing the Lord's song in a strange land?" 
(Psa. 137: 1-4). Zion's songs were songs of deliverance; 
therefore it was not possible to sing them in a strange 
land. 



396 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

So also has it been in spiritual Babylon. The truly 
saved held captive therein during the long reign of 
apostasy, have had their righteous souls vexed from 
day to day with pride, worldliness, and ungodliness of 
surroundings ; and there they have wept and groaned when 
they remembered Zion's primitive condition. At the 
same time, however, they have been expected to be happy 
and sing the songs of Zion. How could they sing these 
songs of deliverance in a strange land? Impossible! 
It is when "the ransomed of the Lord return, and come 
to Zion," that the "songs and everlasting joy" break 
forth again. And this was described by the Revelator: 
"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: 
and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, 
and over his image, and over his mark, and over the 
number of his name, stand on the sea of glass having 
the harps of God. And they sing, the song of Moses the 
servant of God [a song of deliverance], and the song 
of the Lamb [a song of redemption], saying, Great and 
marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and 
true are thy ways, thou King of saints" (Rev. 15: 2, 3). 
Thank God! Since we have returned from Babylon we 
have our harps once more and are able to sing the songs 
of Zion. Halleluiah! 



"From Babel confusion most gladly I fled, 
And came to the heights of fair Zion instead; 
I'm feasting this moment on heavenly bread; 

I'll never go back, I'll never go back. 
The beast and his image, his mark, and his name, 
My love or allegiance no longer can claim, 
Though men may exalt them to honor and fame; 

I'll never go back again." 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 397 

A WORLD-WIDE WORK. 

This great movement is also symbolized in the tenth 
chapter of Revelation: "And I saw another mighty 
angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and 
a rainbow was on his head, and his face was as it were 
the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his 
hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon 
the sea, and his left foot on the earth, and cried with a 
loud voice .... and sware by him that liveth forever 
and ever .... that there should be time no longer: but 
in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he 
shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be fin- 
ished" (verses 1-7). 

It is the seventh angel that ushers in the end of all 
things. This angel, however, is not the seventh, but is 
another who appears just before the seventh. He had in 
his hand a little book, which John was commanded to 
take and eat (verse 9). This symbolizes the Word of 
God, which the people of God must accept in these last 
days, just before the end of time. 

But the chief point in this vision which I wish to call 
attention to is the fact that this message is universal. The 
angel "set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot 
on the earth." Sea and earth include the whole world. 
The first message of the gospel in apostolic days went 
forth to the then-known world only-^the territory of 
the Roman Empire; but this last message is for all 
people in all parts of the earth. All must receive the 
"little book," and take it, and eat it. Therefore the call 
of God to unite in one body — one glorious church — in 
this present age, knows no geographical or other limits. 



398 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

While the special prophecies pertaining to Babylon 
are directed more particularly toward Roman Catholi- 
cism and Protestantism, the gathering together of God's 
people must not be considered as limited to these, but is 
to embrace all. The great apostasy out of which the 
Papacy and Protestantism developed in the West, was 
reigning in the East also, as we have shown, and it has 
been perpetuated until the present day. And since this 
message is universal, it is directed against every form 
of the apostasy without exceptions — Papal, Protestant, 
Greek Orthodox, Maronite, Gregorian, Coptic, Abys- 
sinian, etc. Not one of these represents the true, pure 
church of the Bible, but all are filled up with sin and 
sinners, and teach for doctrines the commandments of 
men; therefore God is gathering his true, holy people to- 
gether in one body out of and outside of all of these 
churches of men. Amen. 

COUNTERFEIT MOVEMENTS. 
In concluding this chapter I wish to call attention to 
the fact that there are also certain counterfeit move- 
ments in the world and that these tend to confuse the 
minds of many people — various kinds of so-called holi- 
ness movements, most of which still leave the people in 
their God-dishonoring sects, tongues movement, Russell- 
ism, Christian Science, Seventh-Day Adventism, Prot- 
estant church federation, etc. These movements are 
for the most part filled with false or misleading doc- 
trines, and thousands of people, led by false spirits, take 
refuge therein. True, many good honest people, lacking 
a clear knowledge of God's work and of his truth have 



THE LAST REFORMATION. 399 

also united with these; but this reformation is calling 
them out, and they are fleeing from these divisions of 
Babylon also, and are becoming established in the one 
body which alone bears the true Bible mark of genuine- 
ness. 

These other movements did not originate at the right 
time to fulfil the prophecies. They are not performing 
the work described in the prophecies. They are not 
giving the whole Word to the people, but each omits 
many things of vital importance taught in the New 
Testament, while all add much error. They are not 
restoring the one pure, holy, apostolic church. And 
they are not confirmed by that holy power which gives 
the stamp and seal of divine authority. 

As to the falsity of the doctrines taught in these 
various movements, this book, by setting forth the truth, 
refutes most of their principal points; for when truth is 
presented positively, error must fall. Reader, "buy 
the truth, and sell it not" (Prov. 23:23). The church 
of God has in it the "discerning of spirits," and by this 
means a clear line of demarcation is drawn "between 
the righteous and the wicked; between him that serveth 
God, and him that serveth him not." 

"Are you of the holy remnant, Gathered to the king of peace! 
Have you found a full atonement And abundance of his 

grace ? 
Yes, my soul has come to Zion, On the high and holy way, 
And I've seen all darkness flying, Driven by the light of 

day." 



DIVINE LAW AND THE 
KINGDOM OF GOD. 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE TWO COVENANTS. 

"Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye 
not hear the law? For it is written, that Abraham had 
two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a free- 
woman. But he who was born of the bondwoman was 
born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by 
promise. Which things are an allegory: for these are 
the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which 
gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar 
is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem 
which now is and is in bondage with her children. 
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the 
mother of us all. For it is written, Rejoice, thou bar- 
ren that barest not; break forth and cry, thou that 
travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children 
than she which hath an husband. Now we, brethren, as 
Isaac was, are the children of promise. But as then 
he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was 
born after the Spirit, even so it is now. Nevertheless 
what saith the Scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and 
her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir 
with the son of the freewoman. So then, brethren, we 
are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free" 
(Gal. 4:21-31). 

In this scripture two covenants are brought to view: 
the first proceeding from Sinai and "gendereth to bond- 
age"; while the second is associated with "Jerusalem, 
which is above .... the mother of us all." They there- 



404 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

fore represent the two great systems by which God has 
governed his people on earth: first, by the law system, 
which originated at Sinai; second, by the gospel, which 
came through Christ. 

Viewed from this standpoint, these two covenants 
are represented as the mothers of God's people, pre- 
figured by the two wives of Abraham. Hagar the bond- 
wife represents the law system, and her son Ishmael, 
signifies the Jewish nation, the "children" of that cove- 
nant; while Sarah the free wife represents the gospel 
system, and Isaac, her son, signifies all true believers 
in Christ, who are "children," not "of the bondwoman, 
but of the free." These systems are not to continue 
side by side together but the one is the successor of the 
other in the Father's favor — the law system, with all of 
its "children" (Hagar and Ishmael), being rejected for 
the true gospel system (Sarah and Isaac). "Cast out the 
bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman 
shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." "Now 
we, brethren [of the gospel dispensation], as Isaac was, 
are the children of promise." 

MEANING OF COVENANT. 
The usual signification of the term "covenant" is, 
"A mutual agreement or contract binding two or more 
parties." But in order for a contract to be mutual, the 
parties must be able to meet on the same level, each 
giving and receiving, and each being obliged by the 
other. But the two covenants under consideration were 
not of this nature, as can readily be seen; therefore the 
term "covenant" is not here used in its proper, or 
ordinary, sense, but in an analogical sense, because of 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 405 

the relative position of the parties. All the benefits are 
conferred by the one, and all the obligations are sus- 
tained by the other. This makes a mutual contract or 
obligation impossible. God and man are not equal, for 
they occupy different planes; therefore their relations 
must not be regarded as identical with the contracts, 
agreements, and relations of men with men. 

A study of the Bible use of the term "covenant/* as 
existing between God and man, shows that it signifies 
God's promise of unmerited favors and blessings to 
man, generally through some particular system by which 
they are to be enjoyed. For this reason his covenant is 
used interchangeably with his "counsel," "oath," or 
"promise." 

"I have made a new covenant with my chosen, I have 
sworn unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish 
forever, and build up thy throne to all generations" 
(Psa. 89: 3, 4). This covenant was not a mutual agree- 
ment, but was simply a sworn promise. So also in Psa. 
105:8-11. The "covenant [which] he made with Abra- 
ham, and his oath unto Isaac," simply promises to give 
the land of Canaan to the Jews. The entire Abrahamic 
covenant is thus regarded simply as a divine promise, 
and not in any sense a mutual agreement. For proof 
see Heb. 6: 13-15; Gal. 3: 14-18; Luke 1:68-75. 

The promise of a coming Redeemer is termed "God's 
covenant"; yet who would think of suggesting that such 
was the result of a mutual contract or obligation made 
between God and man? It is a covenant indeed, yet it 
is all one-sided, and consists of God's gratuitous bless- 
ing. See Isa. 59:20, 21. 



406 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

In addition to the foregoing proofs of the meaning of 
"covenant" when applied to God's relations with men, 
we have positive proof that it is applied to any God- 
appointed arrangement with or without human condi- 
tions. Thus : 

1. Day and night. "If ye can break my covenant of 
the day, and my covenant of the night, and that there 
should not be day and night in their season" (Jer. 33: 
20). Day and night are not the result of an agreement 
between God and man, but are wholly of divine appoint- 
ment. Therefore any of God's fixed arrangements, or 
commandments, or promises may properly be termed his 
covenant, according to the Bible use of the word. 

2. Sabbath. "Wherefore the children of Israel shall 
keep the Sabbath to observe the Sabbath throughout 
their generations, for a perpetual covenant" (Exod. 
31:16). 

3. Circumcision. "Thou shalt keep my covenant 
therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their genera- 
tions. This is my covenant which ye shall keep .... 
every man-child among you shall be circumcised'' (Gen. 
17:9, 10). 

In these last two scriptures positive commandments 
are termed God's covenant. 

So also a single precept of a system ordained by the 
Lord, is termed his covenant (see Jer. 34: 13, 14). 

We have already shown that God has made two special 
covenants, each of which embraces an entire system of 
divine law and government in a distinct dispensation of 
time. These we desire especially to set forth, showing 
their establishment, nature, duration, and special rela- 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 407 

tions to each other. Although in one sense they are dis- 
tinct from each other, yet in another sense they bear a 
certain relationship with each other. Ishmael and 
Isaac, by which they are represented, were quite dif- 
ferent; for one was the son of a slave, while the other 
was the son of a freewoman; yet, after all they were 
half-brothers, for they had the same father. Likewise 
God is the author of both the systems that they repre- 
sented. The relation of Abraham with his slave, how- 
ever, was not a natural one, but was an accommodation 
to certain existing conditions deemed expedient at that 
time; but this relation ended when Hagar was dismissed 
from the family after the birth of Isaac. So also God's 
relation with the old covenant and its "children" was 
not entirely a natural one, but was an accommodation 
to conditions in that age of the world, and therefore 
came to an end with the establishment of the gospel; for 
"we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise." 
And now is fulfilled the command, "Cast out the bond- 
woman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall 
not be heir with the son of the freewoman." 

THE SINAITIC COVENANT. 

The first covenant, the one afterwards "cast out," 
came, we are told, "from the mount Sinai"; therefore 
we will consult the Word of God in order to see what 
constitutes that covenant from Sinai. 

I. THE DECALOGUE OR TEN COMMANDMENTS. 
"And he was there [in Mount Sinai] .... forty days 
and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink 



408 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the 
covenant, the ten commandments" (Ex. 84:28, 29). 
"And he declared unto you his covenant, which he com- 
manded you to perform, even ten commandments; and 
he wrote them upon two tables of stone" (Deut. 4: 18). 

These two scriptures declare positively that the ten 
commandments, written on tables of stone, constituted 
the Sinaitic covenant; but this fact is even more clearly 
stated, if possible, in Deut. 5:2-22: "The Lord our 
God made a covenant with us in Horeb. The Lord made 
not this covenant with our fathers, but with us, even 
us, who are all of us here alive this day. The Lord 
talked with you face to face .... saying, I am the 
Lord thy God which brought thee out of the land of 
Egypt, from the house of bondage. Thou shalt have 
none other gods before me." Then follows the words 
of all the ten commandments, thus giving the words 
of the covenant in full, after which come these words 
of Moses: "These words the Lord spake unto all your 
assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of 
the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice: 
and he added no more. And he wrote them in two tables 
of stone, and delivered them unto me." 

That the decalogue itself constituted the covenant 
proper is further shown by the fact that the violation 
of any one of its precepts was termed a breaking of 
the covenant. For example: 

1. The commandment forbidding images. "Take heed 
unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the Lord 
your God, which he made with you, and make you a 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 409 

graven image, or the likeness of anything, which the 
Lord thy God hath forbidden thee" (Deut. 4: 23). 

2. The commandment forbidding idolatry. "Then 
men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant 
of the Lord God of their fathers .... for they went and 
served other gods, and worshiped them" (Deut. 29: 
24-26). So also Deut. 31:16. 

3. The commandments against covetousness and steal- 
ing. When Achan coveted and stole certain things at 
Jericho, he was taken and destroyed because he had 
"transgressed the covenant of the Lord" (Josh. 7:15). 

II. OTHER PRECEPTS ALSO. 

But while the decalogue, as the foregoing scriptures 
show, constituted the covenant proper, other precepts 
given on Sinai were also included in that covenant, 
"I made a covenant with your fathers in the day that 
I brought them forth from the land of Egypt, out of 
the house of bondage, saying, At the end of seven years 
let ye go every man his brother an Hebrew, which hath 
been sold unto thee" (Jer. 34: 13, 14). This last- 
named precept is from Exod. 21:2, and was therefore 
contained in the book of the covenant that Moses wrote 
just after God first spoke on Sinai. At that time God 
gave the ten commandments, together with certain other 
laws, statutes, judgments, and ordinances; whereupon 
"Moses wrote ALL the words of the Lord" (which in- 
cluded the decalogue) in a little book containing what 
is now the 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd chapters of Exodus. 
After writing it, Moses took this little "booh of the cov- 
enant, and read in the audience of the people: and they 



410 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

said, All that the Lord hath said will we do, and be 
obedient. And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled 
upon the people, and said, Behold the blood of the cov- 
enant which the Lord hath made with you concerning 
all these words" (Ex. 24:4-8). Here the word "cov- 
enant" is expanded, including the little book, for the 
simple reason that the book contained the covenant 
proper — the ten commandments. Had they not been 
included in this writing of Moses, we should know little 
concerning them; for the stone tables upon which (as 
we shall see) they were also written have disappeared. 

III. THE ENTIRE PENTATEUCH. 

At a later time Moses wrote a larger book, the Pen- 
tateuch, comprising what is now the first five books of 
the Bible, and in this he included the little book just 
mentioned, which forms chapters 20 to 23 of Exodus. 
Now, since "the book of the covenant," which had been 
dedicated by blood, was incorporated in the complete 
writings of Moses, the entire work became known as 
"the book of the covenant," embracing the whole Mosaic, 
or law, system — moral, civil, and ceremonial. Thus, 
the writer of the book of Hebrews states that "the first 
covenant had also ordinances of divine service and a 
worldly sanctuary" (Heb. 9:1). These ceremonial 
things were not the entire covenant, but the "first" 
covenant had these things "also/* Therefore in Ezek. 
44 : 7 the defiling of the temple is termed a breaking of 
the covenant. In 2 Cor. 3: 14, 15 Paul regards the old 
covenant as identical with the writings of Moses — the 
Pentateuch: "But their minds were blinded: for until 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 411 

this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the 
reading of the old testament [or covenant] ; which vail 
is done away in Christ. But even unto this day when 
Moses is read the vail is upon their hearts." Now, this 
is the broadest use of the term "old covenant" that we 
have in the Bible. This book of the law is termed "the 
covenant" because it contains, is built upon, and centers 
in, the covenant proper — the ten commandments (Exod. 
34:28; Deut. 4: 13; 5:2-22, etc.). 

The foregoing scriptures show positively that the 
covenant from Sinai was one, and that it included the 
decalogue and all other precepts and commandments, 
whether civil, moral, or ceremonial. 

FALSE CLAIM OF TWO LAWS. 
Certain law-teachers of the present day have attemp- 
ted to build up an ingenious theory that there were two 
distinct laws given to the Jews — one the law of God and 
the other the law of Moses. The decalogue they exalt 
above everything else, constantly calling it "the law of 
God," "the law of the Lord," "the moral law," etc.; 
the rest of the law they place in an inferior position, 
calling it the "law of Moses," "ceremonial law," etc. 
Now, this distinction is false and is a mere shift in order 
to uphold an unscriptural theory. In not one place in 
the Bible is this distinction ever made. The decalogue is 
never singled out and called "the law of God," "the law 
of the Lord," or "the moral law"; nor is the rest of 
Moses* writings ever called "the ceremonial law." On 
the contrary, these writings of Moses, aside from the 
decalogue, are frequently styled "the law of the Lord." 



412 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Thus, in 2 Chron. 31:3 the burnt offerings, set feasts, 
etc., are all given as commanded in "the law of the 
Lord." 

"For God commanded saying, Honor thy father and 
mother" (Matt. 15:4). "For Moses said, Honor thy 
father and thy mother" (Mark 7:10). Here the same 
precept of the decalogue is attributed both to God and 
to Moses. No distinction making two laws. 

"Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you 
keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?" (John 
7: 19). Here the commandment against murder (in 
the decalogue) is ascribed to Moses. Now verses 22, 
23: "Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision .... 
If a man on the Sabbath-day receive circumcision, that 
the law of Moses should not be broken." No such thing 
as two laws was known to Christ; he simply attributed 
all to Moses. 

"And when the days of her purification according to 
the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him 
to Jerusalem, to present him to the Lord; as it is writ- 
ten in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the 
womb shall be called holy" (Luke 2:22, 23). No dis- 
tinction is made here between "the law of the Lord" 
and "the law of Moses," but the two are used in ref- 
erence to the same thing — a ceremonial precept. 

"And they spake unto Ezra the scribe to bring the book 
of the law of Moses .... So they read in the book in the 
law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused 
them to understand the reading" (Neh. 8: 1-8). This "law 
of Moses" and this "law of God" were the same ; and out 
of this book, "in the law of God" Ezra read "from the 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 413 

morning until midday" (verse 3). But why is it called 
both the law of Moses and the law of God ? The answer is 
clearly given- — because it was "the book of the law of 
Moses, which the Lord had commanded** (verse 1). 
"Ezra .... was a ready scribe in the law of Moses, 
which the Lord God of Israel had given" (Ezra 7:6). 
It was the law of God because God was its author; it 
was the law of Moses because he gave it to the people. 
Only one law was given to Israel, simply called "the 
law," which law included the whole system — every 
precept, whether moral, civil, or ceremonial. 

In the effort to exalt the decalogue above the rest 
of the law and thus enforce this unscriptural distinc- 
tion, these crafty teachers of the law exclaim, "But God 
gave the decalogue himself, whereas the remainder was 
given by Moses." This statement at first appears cor- 
rect and innocent enough, but a construction is thus 
placed upon it that is absolutely false. Reader, mark 
this fact: The entire law, decalogue and all, proceeded 
from the same source, was given by God himself, and 
in the same way — he spoke it all from heaven. The only 
difference was in the recording of that law. God re- 
corded the decalogue on stones; whereas Moses recorded 
the entire book of the law (decalogue included) in hand- 
writing in a book. The recording was an after-considera- 
tion. God first spoke the ten commandments directly 
to all the people (Deut. 5: 4-22; 'Ex. 20:1-18); and 
these words, accompanied by supernatural manifesta- 
tions, so terrified the people that AT THEIR RE- 
QUEST the Lord did not deliver the rest of his law 
directly to them, as he probably would have done (Heb. 



414 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

12: 19; Exod. 20: 19); therefore Moses "drew near unto 
the thick darkness where God was" (Ex. 20:21) and 
received the rest of the statutes, judgments, laws, and 
ordinances, which, as I have already shown, he wrote 
in a small book and read to the people, then dedicated 
it as the "book of the covenant." The assertion that 
the words of God spoken to Moses privately at the re- 
quest of the people are inferior to the words spoken 
publicly is, to say the least, a wretched perversion of 
the facts in the case. In the New Testament some of 
the gospel was spoken directly by Christ and recorded 
afterwards in his own words; while other parts were 
recorded in the language of the apostles through the in- 
spiration of the Holy Spirit. Are there therefore two gos- 
pels in the New Testament? Is one part inferior to the 
other? Certainly not. So in the Old Testament God 
gave the entire law in the same way — he spoke it. The 
entire congregation heard only a part of it, but Moses 
heard it all and wrote it. One law, proceeding from 
one source. 

The question may then be asked, "Why did God write 
the decalogue on the stone tables?" The answer is easy 
and clear. After Moses dedicated the small book of 
law referred to, he returned to Mount Sinai and remained 
there many days, during which time he received all of 
the law from the mouth of God. "And He gave unto 
Moses, when He had made an end of communing with 
him on Mount Sinai, two tables of TESTIMONY, tab- 
les of stone, written with the finger of God" (Ex. 31 : 
18). This explains the whole matter. Over and over 
again these tables are called the "testimony." Testimony 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 415 

of what? Why, they were God's witness, attestation, 
or "testimony" to the rest of the law, which the people 
had not heard; and as they contained the words, divinely 
written, which the people knew were divinely given, they 
therefore constituted the proof or seal that the remain- 
der were also THE WORDS OF GOD HIMSELF. 
A witness never testifies for himself, but for some one 
else. The tables were a testimony, not for themselves, 
but for the remainder of the law. All of the rules, regu- 
lations, limitations, and penalties pertaining to the ten 
precepts that the people themselves had heard were given 
privately to Moses ; therefore they needed a divine attes- 
tation of some kind. 

Furthermore, this method of giving some visible thing 
as a proof or attestation was in accordance with the 
customs of the times. "Now this was the manner in 
former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concern- 
ing changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked 
off his shoe, and gave to his neighbor: and this was a 
testimony in Israel" (Ruth 4:7). Now, this old shoe 
was not a testimony for itself, but was a proof or wit- 
ness of the entire business transaction. Again, we read 
concerning Joshua: "So Joshua made a covenant with 
the people that day, and set them a statute and an or- 
dinance in Shechem. And Joshua wrote these words 
in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, 
and set it up there under an oak, that was by the sanc- 
tuary of the Lord. And Joshua said unto all the people, 
Behold, this stone shall be A WITNESS unto us; for 
it hath heard all the words of the Lord which he spake 



416 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

unto us; it shall be therefore a witness unto you" (Josh. 
24:25-27). 

Was the old shoe superior to the transaction of which 
it was a "testimony"? Was the stone of Shechem another 
law, or in some way a superior object to that written 
covenant of which it was only a "witness"? Let candid 
men answer. So also the stone tables were simply a 
"testimony" divinely given, witnessing to the authenticity 
and divine authorship of the one written law given by 
Moses. 

A TEMPORARY SYSTEM. 

In the third chapter of Galatians, Paul discusses at 
length the Abrahamic covenant, proving that it meets 
its fulfilment in Christ; therefore he was obliged to 
consider the matter of this Mosaic covenant, which was 
introduced between the giving of the Abrahamic cove- 
nant and the appearing of Christ. In this he clearly 
shows the temporary nature of the whole Mosiac law 
system. 

"And this I say, that the covenant [of Abraham] 
that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law [of 
Moses] which was four hundred and thirty years after, 
can not disannul, that it should make the promise of 
none effect" (verse 17). And since he connects the 
Abrahamic covenant and the gospel of Christ, thus dis- 
pensing with the law of Moses, which was established 
between these dates, he asks the question, "Wherefore 
then serveth the law?" or in other words, "Why then 
was the law given?" This he answers: "It was added 
because of transgressions, until the seed should come to 
whom the promise was made" (verse 19). "And to thy 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 417 

seed, which is Christ" (verse 16). This shows its tem- 
porary nature, as also do verses 24, 25: "Wherefore 
the law was our schoolmaster to bring us [the Jews] 
unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But 
after that faith is come [the introduction of the gospel], 
we are no longer under a schoolmaster." 

This scripture shows: 1. That the Sinaitic law, 
given four hundred and thirty years after the Abra- 
hamic covenant, was to end with Christ. 2. That it 
was given "because of transgressions," which shows 
that it was designed to restrain sin, thus being adapted 
to a sin-age. "Moreover the law entered that the of- 
fense might abound" (Rom. 5:20). Paul distinctly 
taught what class of people the law was adapted to. 
When certain men were endeavoring to bind the law upon 
Christians, he declared that these law-teachers under- 
stand 'neither what they said, nor whereof they affirmed' ; 
but he himself asserted that "the law was not made for 
a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, 
for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and pro- 
fane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, 
for menslayers, for whoremongers," etc. (1 Tim. 1 : 7-9). 
And Heb. 10: 1-4 shows that the law system was not able 
to remove sin from the hearts of the people. 

Furthermore, the law system was given only to the 
Jewish nation. Paul says that the Gentiles "have not 
the law" (Rom 2:14). However, according to Exod. 
12:48, 49 it was possible for Gentiles, through cir- 
cumcision, to become Jewish proselytes, and thus be- 
come subject to the jurisdiction of their law. And in 
some cases this was done extensively, as we read in the 



418 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

time of Esther: "And many of the people of the land 
became Jews, for the fear of the Jews fell upon them" 
(Esther 8:17). But primarily the law applied to the 
Jews only, and was their schoolmaster to bring them to 
Christ. 

A NEW COVENANT PREDICTED. 
"Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will 
make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with 
the house of Judah: not according to the covenant which 
I made with their fathers in the day that I took them 
by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; 
which my covenant they break, although I was a hus- 
band unto them, saith the Lord: but this shall be the 
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After 
those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their in- 
ward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be 
their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall 
teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man 
his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all 
know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of 
them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, 
and I will remember their sin no more" (Jer. 31:31- 
34). 

This new covenant was established by Jesus Christ. 
"By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testa- 
ment" (Heb. 7: 22). "But now hath he obtained a more 
excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediatoi 
of a better covenant, which was established upon better 
promises" (Heb. 8:6). In every respect this new cove- 
nant through Christ is better than the old one. 

1. It was established on better promises." The 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 419 

Mosaic covenant was based upon those promises in the 
original Abrahamic covenant which pertain to the literal 
Israel, hence was limited — national; whereas the "better 
covenant" is based upon those promises in the Abrahamic 
covenant which have universal import, meeting their 
fulfilment in the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

2. It has a better mediator, "The law was given by 
Moses" (John 1:17); whereas Jesus is "the mediator 
of the new covenant" (Heb. 12:24; 8:6). 

3. It has a better priesthood. The priests of the law 
were fallible men, who "were not suffered to continue 
by reason of death" (Heb. 7: 23) ; whereas Jesus is our 
high priest, and he is "holy, harmless, undefiled, sepa- 
rate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens," 
and "because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable 
priesthood" (Heb. 7:26, 24). 

4. It has a better sanctuary. "The first covenant 
had .... a worldly sanctuary" (Heb. 9:1). The new 
covenant sanctuary, temple, or house of God is his spirit- 
ual church (1 Pet. 2:5; Heb. 3:6; 1 Tim. 3: 15; Eph. 
2: 19-22). 

5. It has a better sacrifice. Instead of the "blood of 
bulls and of goats," "which can never take away sins" 
(Heb. 9: 13; 10: 11) it has "the blood of Christ," which 
is able to "purge your conscience from dead works to 
serve the living God" (Heb. 9:14). 

FIRST COVENANT ABOLISHED. 
Throughout the book of Hebrews these two covenants 
are placed in sharp contrast. In chapter 9, after speak- 
ing of the "first covenant," the apostle represents Christ 



420 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

as "the mediator of the new testament," which is brought 
into force after his death; just as a "will/' or testament, 
is made effective among men by the death of the testator. 
The first testament was dedicated by the blood of ani- 
mals, the blood of which could never "make the comers 
thereunto perfect" nor "take away sins" (chap. 10: 1-4) ; 
but the second will, or testament, was dedicated by a 
divine sacrifice. "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy 
will, O God. HE TAKETH AWAY THE FIRST, 
that he may establish the second. By the which WILL 
we are sanctified through the offering of the body of 
Jesus Christ once for all" (verses 9, 10). 

This weakness of the old covenant was one of the 
causes of its abolition. "For there is verily a disan- 
nulling of the commandment going before for the weak- 
ness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law made 
nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope 
DID ; by the which we draw nigh unto God .... By 
so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament" 
(Heb. 7' 18-22). In the new covenant there is perfect 
salvation from sin through the blood of Jesus Christ. 

The abolition of the first covenant and the establish- 
ment of the second covenant is set forth in Heb. 8:6- 
18 in the plainest manner, as follows : "But now hath he 
obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is 
the mediator of a better covenant, which was established 
upon better promises. For if that first covenant had 
been faultless, then should no place have been sought 
for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, 
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make 
a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 421 

house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I 
made with their fathers in the day when I took them by 
the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because 
they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded 
them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that 
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, 
saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and 
write them in their hearts : and I will be to them a God, 
and they shall be to me a people: and they shall not 
teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, 
saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the 
least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their 
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will 
I remember no more. In that he saith, A new covenant, 
he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth 
and waxeth old is ready to vanish away." 

Reader, notice the manner in which these two cove- 
nants are placed in contrast, thus: A covenant, "a better 
covenant"; "first covenant," "second"; "old covenant," 
"new covenant," etc. The first covenant was faulty in 
that it was unable to accomplish God's perfect work, 
for it could not "make the comers thereunto perfect" 
(chap. 10: 1); it "made nothing perfect" (chap. 7: 19). 
However, a law might of itself be perfect, and yet never 
make any man perfect. But Paul concludes that since 
the first covenant has been superseded by the "second," 
"new," and "better covenant," it now "decayeth and 
waxeth old, and is ready to vanish away" (verse 13). 

Now, what was included in this "first," "old," and 
abolished covenant? I have already shown by many 
scriptures that the first covenant, which came from 



422 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Sinai, included the whole law of Moses — moral, civil, 
and ceremonial — decalogue and all. Now I will add three 
texts showing that the decalogue constituted this abol- 
ished covenant proper, and will challenge any man on 
earth to answer these three texts in the order given. 

1. Hebrews 8:9. Here (according to the context 
already given) the "first," "old," and abolished covenant, 
which "decayeth" and is "ready to vanish away," is 
declared to be "the covenant that I made with their 
fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring 
them out of the land of Egypt/' What was that cove- 
nant ? 

2. 1 Kings 8:21. "I have set there a place for the 
ark, WHEREIN is the covenant of the Lord, which he 
made with our fathers, when he brought them out of 
the land of Egypt." Reader, mark the identity of the 
language in these two scriptures. The "first," "old," 
faulty, abolished covenant that God made with the fath- 
ers when he brought them out of the land of Egypt was 
IN THE ARK. Now, what was in the ark? 

3. Verse 9 of 1 Kings 8; "There was nothing in 
the ark save the TWO TABLES OF STONE, which 
Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a cove- 
nant with the children of Israel, when they came out of 
the land of Egypt." 

All the "perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds" 
(1 Tim. 6:5), of law-teachers who "understand neither 
what they say, nor whereof they affirm" (1 Tim. 1:7), 
can never alter this truth. They may argue and "affirm" 
that the decalogue was not abolished with the old cove- 
nant, but they can never answer these last three texts, 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 428 

which declare it — Heb. 8:9 with 1 Kings 8:21, 9. "Let 
God be true, but every man a liar" (Rom. 3:4). 

But while the decalogue is here pointed out as the 
abolished covenant, we must remember that it was the 
"testimony" of the whole Mosaic system, that it simply 
stands for the whole, and that therefore all came to an 
end with it. Paul declares that Christ "abolished in 
his flesh .... the law of commandments contained in 
ordinances" (Eph. 2: 15). With the abolished law of ten 
commandments went also the ordinances, statutes, and 
judgments of the old law with which it was surrounded 
and which were sustained by it. For this reason Jere- 
miah, predicting the establishment of the new covenant, 
says: "In those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no 
more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord; neither shall 
it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither 
shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more. 
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the 
Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to 
the name of the Lord" (Jer. 3: 16, 17). The ark and 
its covenant contain no sacredness for Christians, ex- 
cept in a mere typical sense. Their worship does not 
center there. By the command of God they have for- 
gotten it; and all of their devotions, worship, and sacred 
associations center in "Jerusalem," in that gospel of 
our Lord which went forth from the Holy City. 

These two covenants are also contrasted by the apostle 
Paul in 2 Cor. 3:3-14: "Forasmuch as ye are mani- 
festly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered 
by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the 
living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables 



424 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ 
to Godward: not that we are sufficient of ourselves to 
think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of 
God; who also hath made us able ministers of the new 
testament; not of the letter, but of the Spirit: for the 
letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life. But if the minis- 
tration of death, written and engraven in stones, was 
glorious, so that the children of Israel could not sted- 
fastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his 
countenance; which glory was to be done away: how 
shall not the ministration of the Spirit be rather glori- 
ous? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, 
much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed 
in glory. For even that which was made glorious had 
no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that ex- 
celleth. For if that which was done away was glorious, 
much more that which remaineth was glorious. Seeing 
then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of 
speech : and not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, 
that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to 
the end of that which is abolished: but their minds were 
blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail un- 
taken away in the reading of the old testament; which 
vail is done away in Christ." 

Here the first covenant is defined as the "old testa- 
ment," "tables of stone," "the ministration of death," 
which "was glorious" at that time, the "letter" which 
"killeth," "the ministration of condemnation," and that 
which "was written and engraven in stones," which was 
"done away" and "abolished." The second covenant 
is the "new testament," of which Paul was an able minis- 



THE TWO COVENANTS. 425 

ter; "the Spirit," which "giveth life"; "the ministration 
of the Spirit"; "the glory that excelleth"; that which 
"remaineth" and is "written in the fleshy tables of the 
heart." 

In the words of Bro. D. S. Warner: "No Old Testa- 
ment law-teacher is sent of God. In the present dis- 
pensation, He makes men 'ministers of the new testa- 
ment' only. It is called 'the ministration of the Spirit'; 
therefore no one can receive or teach it without the gift 
of the Holy Spirit, excepting in the letter, which 'killeth.' 

"In verse 7 the ten words are called, 'the ministration 
of death, written and engraven in stones.' And though 
it was declared 'glorious/ it was 'done away.' 'For if 
that which is done away was glorious [the law written 
on stones, verse 7], much more that which remaineth is 
glorious.' (verse 11). 'That which remaineth' is the 
new testament, of which God made Paul an able minis- 
ter. 'And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, 
that the children of Israel could not look stedfastly to 
the end of that which is abolished/ The abolished law, 
we are told, was given through Moses, who at the time 
had his face vailed. Now turn to Ex. 34 : 28-33, and you 
will see that it was when he came down from the mount 
with the tables of the covenant in his hands that his face 
shone, and was vailed. 

"In verse 14 the abolished law is plainly described 
to be the 'old testament.' The old testament and the old 
covenant are the same thing. [Note. The term "old 
testament" as employed in the Scriptures never means 
more than the writings of Moses. It did not designate 
the entire body of ancient Scriptures before Christ, as 



426 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

we now employ the term. The collection of Scriptures 
written before the Savior were classed as "the law of 
Moses" (the old testament), "the prophets/' and "the 
Psalms." See Luke 24 : 44,] And though we have seen 
that it [the old covenant] is strictly defined as the ten 
commandments, yet these being the statute basis of the 
entire old book, the whole volume is sometimes called 
the old diatheke — testament. 

"We can scarcely conceive how it could be possible 
to employ words that would more explicitly assert the 
abolition of that covenant which was written in the tables 
of stone .... How very explicit and unmistakable this 
language! All Bible readers know that nothing but 
the ten commandments were written in the stone tables, 
and it is affirmed that the very thing that had been 'writ- 
ten and engraven in stones' is abolished and done away. 
Compare verses 7 and 11." 



CHAPTER XXI. 
"THE LAW OF CHRIST." 

As we showed in the preceding chapter, the national 
law of the Israelites enacted on Mount Sinai consti- 
tuted the first, or old, covenant and was abolished by 
Christ at the cross ; that is, so far as God's sanction and 
approval was concerned, it ended then, for it had served 
its temporary purpose as a standard of duty and judg« 
ment among God's people. It was only "added because 
of transgressions until the seed should come unto whom 
the [Abrahamic] promise was made," "which is Christ" 
(Gal. S: 19). 

NECESSITY OF LAW. 

There still exists, however, the necessity of law as a 
standard of judgment; because without law there could be 
no sin, "for sin is the transgression of the law" (John 
3:4). Therefore without a law defining and limiting 
human actions and conduct there could be no sin, hence 
no pardon or salvation. 

Now, our moral obligations, our conduct and actions, 
are of a two-fold character, embracing the relationship 
which we hold to our fellowmen, and also the relation- 
ship which we hold to that God whose creatures and sub- 
jects we are. For this reason, a perfect law, covering 
all human conduct and defining sin, must proceed from 
God. Men make laws, but these belong exclusively to 
the department of human life; and even there they 
are for the most part simply matters of expediency, 



428 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

being framed in accordance with what appears to be the 
best for the general good of the state or society. But 
human laws are unable to obligate the conscience in 
that higher realm of our accountability to God. In this 
we feel like exclaiming, with William H. Seward, "There 
is a higher law than the Constitution." 

ONLY DIVINE LAW CAN DEFINE SIN. 

Again I say, in order to define sin, a law must pro- 
ceed from God. Now, since the abolition of the Mosaic 
system, what law furnishes the standard of judgment for 
the world? What law are Christians under? 

"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners 
spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 
hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son" (Heb. 
1:3, 2). God's requirements can be made known to 
men only by revelation, and this he has made "unto 
the fathers by the prophets" in various ways and at 
different times. Do not overlook this fact; it is impor- 
tant. As we showed in a preceding chapter, divine 
revelation was by necessity a gradual, progressive pro- 
cess, in accommodation to human conditions. For this 
reason commandments and obligations that God has laid 
upon men in one period of time have often been super- 
seded, in the order of God's plan, by something of a 
higher and more perfect nature. If men fail to under- 
stand this principle, they may, like the Israelites of old, 
attempt to perpetuate some of God's appointments long 
after he himself is done with them. Thus, for hundreds 
of years the Israelites continued to reverence the brazen 
serpent, which had served a very good purpose in the 



"THE LAW OF CHRIST." 429 

wilderness. Hezekiah, however, "brake in pieces the 
brazen serpent that Moses had made: for unto these 
days the children of Israel did burn incense to it" (2 
Kings 18:4), Circumcision, the passover, sacrifices, 
and scores of other things are also examples. So also 
while the whole Mosaic system, with its hundreds of 
obligatory commandments and regulations adapted to 
the nation of Israel in that period, was "spoken" by God 
through Moses, it passed away, being superseded by the 
"new," "second," and "better covenant." This new 
covenant is God's law to us — our standard of judgment 
— and by conforming to its requirements we "fulfil 
the LAW OF CHRIST" (Gal. 6:2). For while God 
"in time past" "spoke" his laws and requirements in 
various ways and at different times, he now "hath in 
these last days spoken unto us BY HIS SON." 

CHRIST THE LAWGIVER. 

Now, when God speaks to men, is not Ms word law? 
Is it right to disobey ? And if his word is law, then there 
can be no higher law than "the law of Christ" ; for Jesus 
himself says, "I and my Father are one" (John 10: SO). 
He asserts that "all men should honor the Son even as 
they honor the Father" (John 5: 23). So far as authority 
is concerned, then, Christ is supreme. If he delivered a 
law, that law must be final, binding upon all, and must 
be the standard of judgment for the world. God "hath 
.... spoken unto us by his Son." 

In the Old Testament we have clearly predicted the 
coming of another lawgiver. Moses himself the mediator 
of the old law, understood that his system was to be 



430 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

temporary and prophesied of a change. "The Lord thy 
God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of 
them [the Jewish nation], of thy brethren, like unto me ; 
unto him ye shall harken." This Moses said. "And the 
Lord said .... I will raise them up a prophet from 
among their brethren .... and will put my words in his 
mouth; and he shall speak unto thee all that I shall 
command him. And it shall come to pass, that whoso- 
ever will not harken unto my words which HE shall 
speak in my name, I will require it of him" (Deut. 
18: 15, 17-19). This scripture teaches that God's words 
which this prophet should speak would be the standard 
of judgment for the disobedient — "I will require it of 
him." In Acts 3 : 22, 23, Peter quotes this prophecy 
and applies it directly to Jesus Christ. His word is 
law — "the law of Christ." 

While Moses predicted the coming of this lawgiver, 
Isaiah, with clear reference to Christ, says, "The isles 
shall wait for his law" (Isa. 42:4). "His law," "the 
law of Christ," was not in existence in Isaiah's day, but 
men were obliged to "wait" for it. After the lapse of 
many centuries it came, thank God! 

Follow this divine lawgiver to the Mount of Trans- 
figuration. Here appear Moses and Elias — Moses rep- 
resentative of the law that he delivered and the law- 
age that he ushered in; Elias, the foremost man among 
all the prophets of the old dispensation, representative 
of all the prophets through whom "God spake in time 
past unto the fathers." Peter amazed by the supernat- 
ural illumination of his Lord and overawed with the 
spLendor of the ocoasion, said, "Lord, it is good for us 



"THE LAW OF CHRIST." 431 

to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three taber- 
nacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for 
Elias" (Matt. 17: 1-4). Peter seemed to think that all 
three should be accorded equal honor and place in the 
worship of God. But listen to the rebuke of Heaven 
at the very suggestion: "While he yet spake, behold, 
a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold, a voice 
out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in 
whom I am weU pleased, HEAR YE HIM." "And when 
they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no man, save 
JESUS ONLY" (verses 5, 8). 

Moses and the law, Elias and the old prophets, can 
not stand with Him who claims equality with God — 
"JESUS ONLY." The first covenant was revealed on 
Mount Sinai and amid great manifestations; how appro- 
priate, then, that the actual change to the new covenant 
should be made known on a mountain in this marvelous 
manner, with the seal and approval of Heaven itself 
upon the demonstration ! "The law was given by Moses ; 
but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" (John 1 : 
17). "The law and the prophets were until John [who 
baptized Christ] ; since that time the kingdom of God 
is preached" (Luke 16: 16). In the order of his plan, 
God "spake in time past unto the fathers by the proph- 
ets," but now he "hath in these last days spoken 
unto us by HIS SON." O children of earth, know ye 
that God hath spoken unto us by his Son. "HEAR 
YE HIM." 

NEW LAW GOD'S STANDARD OE JUDGMENT. 

According to the prediction of Moses, God promised 
to place his words in the mouth of the new prophet, or 



432 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

lawgiver. In fulfilment of this, Jesus says: "I have not 
spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he 
gave me a commandment what I should say, and what 
I should speak. And I know that his commandment 
is life everlasting; whatsoever I speak therefore, even as 
the Father said unto me, so I speak" (John 12: 49, 50). 
Now, this law of commandments delivered by Christ 
defines sin and is the present standard of judgment. 
This is proved by the fact that it is the standard by 
which we shall be judged in the last great day. "He that 
rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that 
judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall 
judge him in the last day" (verse 48). In that day 
says Paul, " God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus 
Christ according to my gospel" (Rom. 2: 16). Reader, 
our responsibility is now rated, not by the decalogue, 
nor the law of Moses, nor the injunctions of the proph- 
ets, but by the "gospel," "the law of Christ." "Hear 
ye him." 

1. Christ possessed all authority. "All power is given 
unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 28: 18). 

2 . He taught with authority. "He taught them as one 
having authority" (Matt. 7:29). His teachings through- 
out show a directness characteristic of an original law- 
giver. Not once does he quote law or prophet as his 
authority for his teaching. He quotes them for other 
purposes, but for his doctrine he claims no authority be- 
sides God. 

Some people foolishly affirm that in Matthew 5 Christ 
is simply explaining confirming, and enlarging the scope 
of the old law. Five minutes' study ought to convince 



"THE LAW OF CHRIST." 433 

any one that, on the other hand, a series of striking con- 
trasts are here introduced. He refers to the law in the 
words, "Ye have heard that it hath been said"; where- 
as he introduces his own teaching thus: "But I say unto 
you" His standard is not the law standard, but another 
standard, and a higher one, and it proceeds directly 
from him: "I say unto you." Notice this verse: "Ye 
have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, 
and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, that ye re- 
sist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy 
right cheek, turn to him the other also" (verses 38, 
39). Now, is this a mere "confirmation" or "enlarge- 
ment" of the old law? If so, then in order to enlarge 
the original we must destroy two eyes or pluck out 
two teeth, instead of one, or knock down the man who 
smites us on one cheek. No; the law of Christ, "I say 
unto you," is another law. 

In introducing this higher law Christ paid his re- 
spects to the old law and the prophets, that had pre- 
pared the way for him, in these words: "Think not that 
I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not 
come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto 
you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle 
shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled" 
(Matt. 5:17, 18). 

"The law and the prophets were until John" (Luke 
16: 16). The law "was added because of transgressions 
until the seed should come" (Gal. 3:19). Therefore 
the law did not require an act of destruction in order 
to remove it, for it naturally expired by limitation; and 
the plain inference is that it should pass away when 



434 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

fulfilled. But it was still in force when Christ delivered 
this sermon, for its many types and shadows pointing 
forward to Christ were not "fulfilled" until the death 
of Christ; therefore Christ did not and could not set 
himself in direct opposition to the law or attempt to 
"destroy" it during his ministry. On the contrary, 
he respected it. Nevertheless, he gave his doctrine as 
something other than the law and as something superior 
to that law which he thus venerated. "And it came to 
pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people 
were astonished at his doctrine" (Matt. 7:28). 

3. Christ delivered a law. "The law of Christ" (Gal. 
6:2). 

4. It was a law of commandments. "Jesus began to 
do and to teach until the day in which he was taken up, 
after that he through the Holy Ghost had given com- 
mandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen" 
(Acts 1: 1, 2). 

5. It is binding on Christians.. "Go ye therefore, and 
teach all nations .... teaching them to observe [the 
law?— No! but] all things WHATSOEVER I HAVE 
COMMANDED YOU" (Matt. 28: 19, 20). Now, these 
"commandments" of Christ constitute the message to 
all nations. Mark states it thus : "And he said unto them, 
Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every 
creature" (Mark 16:15). The gospel, then, contains 
the commandments of God binding on Christians, and 
they were delivered by Christ. For this reason Paul 
acknowledged himself as being "under the law to Christ" 
(1 Cor. 9:21). "Under the law of the Messiah." — 
Syriac Version. 



"THE LAW OF CHRIST." 435 

6. These commandments we must keep. "If ye love 
me, keep my commandments" (John 14: 15). "If a man 
love me, he will keep my words" (verse 23). "Ye are 
my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you .... 
for all things that I have heard of my Father I have 
made known unto you" (John 15:14, 15). Some de- 
luded souls imagine that by observing the decalogue 
they are keeping the commandments of God. Not so. 
The commandments of God in the Christian dispensa- 
tion are quite another thing, being, as we have shown, 
the "words," the "commandments," yea, "the gospel," 
of Jesus Christ; and by it we shall be judged in the last 
day (John 12:48; Rom. 2:16). This "law of Christ" 
contains many commandments that are entirely "new," 
belonging exclusively to this dispensation, such as bap- 
tism, the Lord's Supper, feet-washing, etc. 

In obedience to the divine commission the apostles 
delivered this law to the Christian churches. Paul, 
who was God's apostle in a special sense (Gal. 1:1), 
wrote to the Corinthians: "I have received of the Lord 
that which also I delivered unto you" (1 Cor. 11:23). 
And again, "If any man think himself to be a prophet, 
or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things that I 
write unto you are the commandments of the Lord" 
(1 Cor. 14:37). To the Thessalonians he said, "Ye 
know what commandments we gave you by the Lord 
Jesus" (1 Thess. 4:2); and he commended them be- 
cause they had received his preaching, "not as the word 
of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God" (1 Thess. 
2: 13). 



436 



WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 



A "PERFECT LAW OF LIBERTY." 

As we have seen, "the law of Christ" is the stand- 
ard of judgment. Now, in order to be a perfect law 
defining sin and covering the entire range of human 
responsibility, it must prohibit everything that is in its 
nature wrong and enjoin everything that is right. Has 
the gospel, or "law of Christ," contained in the New 
Testament, these essential features? Let us see. 



I. It forbids asid condemns- 

1. Hypocrisy — Jas. 3:17 

2. Lying — Eph. 4:25 
8. Stealing— Verse 28 

In 2 Tim. 3:1-5 

4. Covetousness 

5. Pride 

6. Blasphemy 

7. Disobedience to Par- 
ents 

8. False accusation 

9. Love of pleasure 
In Gal. 5:19-21 

10. Adultery 

11. Fornication 

12. Uncleanness 

13. Lasciviousness 

14. Idolatry 

15. Witchcraft 

16. Hatred 

17. Variance 

James sums it up as follows: 
3: 16). 

H. It gives and enjoins — 
In Gal. 5:22, 23 

1. Love 

2. Joy 

3. Peace 

4. Long-suffering 

5. Gentleness 

6. Goodness 

7. Faith 

8. Meekness 

9. Temperance 
In other texts 

10. Humility 

11. Forgiveness 

12. Purity 

13. Sincerity 



18. Wrath 

19. Strife 

20. Seditions 

21. Heresies 

22. Envy 

23. Murder 

24. Drunkenness 

25. Revelings 
In Rom. 1:27-31 

26. Lust 

27. Maliciousness 

28. Deceit 

29. Backbiting 

30. Hatred of God 

31. Boasting 

32. Unmercifulness 
In 1 Tim. 2:9, 10 

33. Personal adornment 
And a host of other 

things. 

'Every evil work*' (Jas. 



14. Godliness 

15. Brotherly kindness 

16. Giving to the poor 

17. Visiting the afflicted 

18. Caring for the wid- 

ows 

19. Observing all New 

Testament ordi- 
nances (baptism, the 
Lord's Supper, feet- 
washing) 

20. Evangelizing the 
world 

And many other things. 



"THE LAW OF CHRIST." 437 

Paul sums it up as follows: "Every good work" (2 
Tim. 2:21). 

The gospel standard is the only perfect one. It alone 
condemns all that is wrong and enjoins all that is right. 
It alone is in force. As the "second" covenant, or 
"will/' it has now superseded in every respect the "first" 
covenant and is the standard of judgment now, and by 
it we shall be judged in the last day. 

A GRADUAL CHANGE. 

So far as God's requirements were concerned, the 
change from the sovereignty of the law system to the 
authority of the gospel standard took place at the cross. 
It was impossible, however, for the Jews instantly to 
comprehend this sweeping revolution; therefore, viewed 
from a human standpoint, the change had to be ef- 
fected gradually. Even the disciples themselves were 
"slow of heart to believe" and to comprehend these 
things. During his personal ministry Christ introduced 
the law of his kingdom alongside of the Mosaic law; and 
he said to his disciples just before his death, "I have 
yet many things to say unto you, but ye can not bear 
them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is 
come, he will guide you into all truth" (John 16 : 12, 13). 
Now, in searching the records of the apostles after they 
had received the Spirit, we find nothing new and im- 
portant except this great change from the law to the 
gospel. And even it was a gradual reformation. The 
customs, forms, and prejudices of the Jewish mind had 
to be as it were outgrown. After the resurrection we 
find the disciples keeping the Jewish Pentecost (Acts 2). 



438 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Even years later they were "preaching the Word to none 
but unto the Jews only" (Acts 11 : 19). This shows that 
they were slow to comprehend the true., universal char- 
acter of the gospel outside of Judaism. 

It required a special miracle to open up the way 
and make clear to Peter that he should go to Cornelius, 
and even then the Jews were "astonished" that God 
should bestow his great favors upon the Gentiles equally 
with the Jews (Acts 10:45). And as a result of this 
action there was much agitation in the Jerusalem church ; 
for they were still observing the old law concerning 
meats and concerning eating with the uncircumcised 
(Acts 11:2, 3). About twenty years after Christ, at the 
time of the council in Jerusalem (Acts 15), a strong 
effort was made to bind the Jewish law even on the 
Gentile Christians, but largely through the efforts of 
Paul it was defeated. But even this council did not free 
the Jews. Even as late as A. D. 60 the churches in 
Judea were still observing the law; and as Paul was a 
Jew, he felt constrained, when among them, to yield to 
it himself as a matter of expediency (Acts 21:20-26). 

But any observer of conditions in the early church 
can see that the effort to perpetuate the law among the 
Christians was productive of a great deal of trouble. 
Finally Paul came out boldly in his Epistles and de- 
clared, over and over again, that the law was abolished. 
He shows, as we have seen, that the entire Mosaic 
system has been "done away," being superseded by 
"the law of Christ." 

This effort to perpetuate the law along with Chris- 
tianity was also prefigured in the family of Abraham, 



"THE LAW OF CHRIST." 489 

from which Paul adduces his type of the two covenants — 
Hagar and Sarah, and the children of these covenants, 
Ishmael and Isaac. Sarah and Hagar with their chil- 
dren lived for a while in the same family, but there 
was always trouble. Eventually Abraham, for the sake 
of peace, was obliged to send away the slave and her 
son. So also in the beginning of the gospel dispensa- 
tion the old covenant and its children (those who still 
clung to the old law) were for a time retained in the 
family after the birth of Isaac; but the Ishmaelites 
were a source of constant trouble and annoyance, until, 
finally, Paul concluded that the only way to get rid of 
the difficulty and have general peace was to fulfil the 
scripture, "Cast out the bondwoman and her son; for 
the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the 
son of the freewoman" (Gal. 4:30). 

Hagar represented the law, and Paul informs us in 
another place that the law was dead (Rom. 7:4), even 
"decaying," in his day (Heb. 8:13). The Ishmaelites, 
however, are not all dead. They are still carrying 
around the carcass of their "old" mother, who has been 
dead for centuries. 

My brethren in the gospel dispensation, let us "stand 
fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made 
us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of 
bondage" (Gal. 5:1). "If ye be led of the Spirit, ye 
are not under the law" (verse 18). "The law was given 
by Moses; but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ" 
(John 1:17). "Ye are not under the law, but under 
grace" (Rom. 6:14). 

Fulfil the <( law of Christ." "HEAR YE HIM." Amen. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 

The law of Christ and the two covenants have thus 
far been considered from the objective standpoint only; 
that is, as revelations made to man. So far as the old 
covenant is concerned, this is sufficient. Its laws were 
simply written in a book, and this writing by Moses was 
sealed and confirmed to Israel by the two "tables of 
testimony" on which God himself wrote that part of the 
law which all Israel heard him speak. But the new cov- 
enant, embodied in our New Testament, is more than an 
external revelation. It is a "better covenant/' 

Jeremiah was the first inspired writer that distinctly 
mentioned the new covenant, and this he placed in sharp 
contrast with the Mosaic covenant. He wrote: "Behold, 
the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new 
covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of 
Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with 
their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to 
bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant 

they brake But this shall be the covenant that 

I will make with the house of Israel; after those days, 
saith the Lord, / will put my law in their inward parts, 
and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and 
they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more 
every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, say- 
ing, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from 
the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the 



442 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

Lord: for I will forgive their iniquities and I will re- 
member their sins no more" (Jer. 31:31-34). 

According to Hebrews 8, where this prophecy is 
quoted, Christ established this new covenant. This new 
covenant is not the decalogue. The "first," "old," "de- 
caying," and abolished covenant, which God made with 
their fathers in the day that he took them by the hand 
to bring them out of the land of Egypt (Heb. 8: 9 and 
context), was the decalogue, as 1 Kings 8:21, 9 posi- 
tively shows. The new covenant, however, was to be 
"not according to" this abolished one; in fact it is "a 
better covenant" (Heb. 8:6). It consists of moral laws; 
for only moral laws can be inscribed in the heart, pro- 
ducing moral resolutions in human character. 

Originally, this perfect law was written in man's 
heart — inscribed in his very nature. This is clearly 
proved by the following facts: 

1. It is still revealed, though imperfectly, in the sub- 
jective consciousness of all men; otherwise they could 
not, without external revelation, be regarded as morally 
responsible. This is confirmed by Paul, who says: "For 
when the Gentiles, which have not the law [the written, 
revealed law] do by nature the things contained in the 
law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: 
which show the work of the law written in their hearts, 
their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts 
the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another" 
(Rom. 2: 14, 15). 

2. By the natural disposition of all men to worship 
God (Acts 17:24-27). Religion is universal. It is the 
demand of our nature. 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 443 

This original law constituted the moral image of God 
in man, but it became largely effaced from the human 
heart as a result of the fall; so that men, far from God, 
do not "know" him in that intimate relationship that 
existed in Eden, In the "new covenant," however, all 
this is restored. 

1. The internal writing of God's law. In perfect 
salvation the laws of God are written in our hearts. 
Paul quotes the prediction of Jeremiah concerning this 
writing and applies its fulfilment thus: "He hath per- 
fected forever them that are sanctified. Whereof the 
Holy Ghost also is a witness to us" (Heb. 10: 14-17). 
Under the old covenant the laws of God were placed in 
the second, or inner, room of the tabernacle; under the 
new covenant they are placed in our hearts. In the 
holy of holies of the tabernacle all the laws of God were 
jplaced — written in a book, and sealed and confirmed by 
the divine "tables of testimony." Likewise in sanctifica- 
tion, in addition to the perfect writing of God's laws in 
our hearts, "the Holy Ghost also is a WITNESS to us." 
Our decalogue is the Holy Ghost — the exclusive work 
of God. Halleluiah! 

2. We know the Lord. In the new covenant restora- 
tion "they shall all know me," saith the Lord. Why 
should we not know him? The earthly manifestation 
and dwelling-place of God was in the tabernacle, par- 
ticularly in the second room. So in salvation we ex- 
perience again that intimate Edenic relationship with 
God. "And this is life eternal, that they might know 
thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou 
hast sent" (John 17:3). 



444 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

3. We are restored to the divine "image" Paul says 
that we "have put on the new man, which is renewed in 
knowledge after the image of him that created him" 
(Col. 3: 10). "And that ye put on the new man, which 
after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" 
(Eph. 4: 24). This work is completed in us in sanctifica- 
tion, the perfecting grace of God, and is therefore 
identical with the restoration of God's law in the soul 
(Heb. 10:14-17). 

But let us define more particularly this original, 
universal, moral law. Since in its restoration it is iden- 
tified with "righteousness and true holiness" in the 
sanctified or perfected soul, evidently in the Edenic state 
it was comprehended in man's perfect moral nature. Now 
what was it? 

Jesus gives us an analysis of this subject in the follow- 
ing conversation: "Then one of them, which was a law- » 
yer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 
Master, which is the greatest commandment in the law? 
Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God 
with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all 
thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. 
And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang 
all the law and the prophets" (Matt. 22: 35-40). 

This is the "great" original law, given in two divi- 
sions: First, love to God; second, love to man. Christ 
did not quote the decalogue, for these commandments 
are not in the decalogue, but he went back to the foun- 
tain-head of all truth. The decalogue was neither "first" 
nor "great" in comparison with these two fundamental 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 445 

truths; for upon "these two commandments hang all the 
law and the prophets" These two commandments com- 
prise the entire sum of man's moral obligations. "He 
hath showed thee, O man, what is good; but what doth 
the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love 
mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?" (Micah 
6:8). "To do justly and to love mercy" covers the 
ground of our human relations; while "to walk humbly 
with thy God" describes our divine obligations. 

Now, this perfect love — Godward and manward — was 
the original law of man's being. It was "first," both in 
importance and in point of time. The new covenant 
restores to us in perfection this divine principle; for in 
its writing of the law of God in our hearts we are "made 
perfect in love" (1 John 4:18), yea, "God dwelleth in 
us, and his love is perfected in us" (verse 12). "The 
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy 
Ghost which is given unto us" (Rom. 5:5). So com- 
plete, so perfect, is this moral principle within, that the 
apostle exclaims, "Love is the fulfilling of the law" 
(Rom. 13:10). Love is the "more excellent way" of 
the gospel (1 Cor. 12:31; 13). 

"Oh! write thy law of holiness 
In living characters of flame, 
That by a life of purity 

I may be worthy of thy name. 

"Oh! write thy law, thy law of love, 

Within me till my soul shall be, 

By bonds no storm can ever break, 

United to thy flock and thee." 



446 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

OBJECTIVE LAW. 

We return again to the words of Jesus in Matt. 22: 
35-40. "On these two commandments [comprising the 
one original law of love] hang all the law and the proph- 
ets' 5 (verse 40). The decalogue was not that original 
law; it was not "first," but it was only hung on that law. 
The time when it was "added/' or attached, to that 
"first" and higher law we shall show later. "All the law 
and the prophets" did not constitute that higher law, 
but were only later additions. In other words, all objec- 
tive revelation of whatsoever form or nature is not that 
original law, but is only an expression of that higher 
law, adapted to human conditions. Therefore the New 
Testament itself, as a book, is not that law, but only an 
expression of it, adapted to the present condition of 
things. Baptism, the Lord's Supper, feet-washing, heal- 
ing of the sick, caring for the poor and needy, and scores 
of other things contained in it are clearly limited to the 
present order of things, and are not adapted to the 
angels nor to the redeemed saints in the heavenly world 
hereafter. For this reason, as I have previously shown, 
divine revelation has been of necessity progressive; and 
this also explains why some things commanded of God 
in one age of the world have been withdrawn at a later 
date; and why an entire system, like the Mosaic, has 
been abolished and superseded by another and better 
system. "There is made of necessity a change also of 
the law" (Heb. 7:12). 

The design of objective revelation, then, is to ex- 
hibit the divine principle of love to God and to man. 
In the Mosaic dispensation this was accomplished (as 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 447 

well as could be done through sinful men) by means of 
an elaborate politico-religious system adapted to that 
age. But in the gospel dispensation the law of perfect 
love is placed in the very hearts of the redeemed; there- 
fore no coercive law is necessary in order to secure its 
manifestation. "If a man love me, he will keep my 
words/' says Jesus (John 14:23). Pure love flows out 
spontaneously to God our Creator, and to all men, even 
our enemies. This is "righteousness and true holiness." 

MORAL LAW. 

Now, this original, universal law of holiness is moral 
law. Butler has drawn the following clear line of dis- 
tinction between moral precepts and other precepts, 
which he denominates positive. He says, "Moral pre- 
cepts are precepts the reasons of which we see; positive 
precepts are precepts the reasons of which we do not 
see." Therefore he goes on to show that "moral duties 
arise out of the nature of the case itself, prior to external 
command. Positive duties do not arise out of the nature 
of the case, but from external command; nor would they 
be duties at all were it not from such command received 
from him whose creatures and subjects we are." — Anal- 
ogy of Revealed Religion, p 208. 

Reader, pause a moment and consider well this dis- 
tinction. It is immutable. Moral law exists in the 
nature of things; whereas a law that must first be made 
by external authority or command in order to become 
a law at all, is not a moral law. Therefore all laws of 
God that have originated by his command or decree are 
ceremonial or "positive"; for in order to become laws at 



448 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

all they had to be first revealed objectively to man. On 
the other hand, all moral law existed subjectively in man 
originally, and this primitive writing, as we have shown, 
has to a great extent remained in him until the present 
day, and is restored once more to its perfect condition 
in Bible holiness. 

CEREMONIAL HOLINESS. 

Since this condition, "righteousness and true holiness," 
describes man's inward moral nature originally, and also 
in redemption, it is evident that the term "holy" or "holi- 
ness" in its "true" sense belongs exclusively to him, so 
far as earthly things are concerned. It is noteworthy 
that under the new covenant this term is applied, almost 
without exception, to the redeemed person. No external 
thing can be holy in this moral or true sense. 

The holiness of things, so often referred to, especially 
in the Old Testament, was not and never could be more 
than a mere external, ceremonial holiness, a sort of con- 
secration, or dedication, to a religious use. No actual 
change was made in the nature of the things thus dedica- 
ted. Thus, we read, "holy temple," "holy ark," "holy 
vessels," "holy altar," "holy vail," "holy sabbath," etc. 
None of these things were holy in the nature of things, 
but at some time or other they had to be made holy in 
order to become holy at all; therefore they were not 
moral in any respect but were simply objects or observ- 
ances ceremonially holy, made such by God's appoint- 
ment or decree. To show that these things were not 
inherently holy, I have only to call attention to the 
possibility of substitution. Another tabernacle might 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 449 

have been made and dedicated by God's command, in- 
stead of the particular one mentioned, and it would have 
been just as holy, or sacred, as the one that was made; 
or another ark, other vessels, etc.; or, as far as we can 
see, God might have selected some day other than the 
seventh for the sabbath, and have made it holy, or sacred, 
instead ; and whichever day he might have selected would 
have been obligatory upon the people, as was the par- 
ticular one that he did select. This is positive and un- 
answerable proof that none of these things possessed 
moral or inherent holiness, but they were simply made 
holy by divine appointment, hence were holy in a "posi- 
tive," or ceremonial, sense only. 

PARTICULAR EXAMPLE OF CEREMONIAL 
HOLINESS. 

In order to show the plain teachings of the Word and 
make this subject entirely clear, I will select one par- 
ticular example of ceremonial holiness — the sabbath. 
This selection is made for two reasons: first, because it 
furnishes material for illustrating the entire subject of 
ceremonial holiness; second, because the sabbath has 
been misunderstood or perverted by nearly all classes of 
Christians. I will consider the subject in chronological 
order — the seventh-day sabbath first, and the first-day 
sabbath idea next. 

The selection of the sabbath as the particular repre- 
sentative of all ceremonial observances is a perfectly 
natural one; for God himself has thus selected it. The 
decalogue is an abridgement, or epitome, of the entire 
covenant, or law, of Moses. As far as I know, this is 



450 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

admitted by all commentators. For this reason the deca- 
logue alone is pointed out again and again as the cov- 
enant that was made at Sinai (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 
4: 13; 5: 2-22), and the one that was abolished by Christ 
when he established the "new" and "better covenant" 
(Heb. 8:9 with 1 Kings 8:21, 9). This could not be 
true unless the decalogue embraced in principle the 
entire law, and especially that part of the law pertaining 
to ceremonial precepts. Therefore the remainder of the 
law, written out by Moses, simply gives in a detailed 
form the things thus succinctly slated in the ten com- 
mandments. 

Now, the sabbath is classed again and again with all 
the other holy days, feasts, and ceremonial observances 
of the law, heading the list of sacred days (see Num. 
28 ; Lev. 23 ; 1 Chron. 23 : 32, 31 ; 2 Chron. 2:4; 8:13; 
31:3; Neh. 10:33, etc.). On these holy seventh-day 
sabbaths all the other "holy" things of the law were 
brought into use — priesthood, altar, vessels, tabernacle, 
sacrifices, etc., etc. Hence, in harmony with this general 
classification, the sabbath stands in the decalogue, 
"THE COVENANT," as the representative of all other 
ceremonial observances. 

At this juncture many Christians will be ready to ex- 
claim, "The decalogue is the moral law; therefore the 
sabbath is a moral commandment, and can not repre- 
sent ceremonial things." Not one text in the Bible calls 
the decalogue the moral law, though it may and does 
contain moral precepts, as every one will admit. Whether 
a precept is moral or positive is determined, not by its 
position in writing, in the decalogue or outside of it, but, 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 451 

as we have showily by its own nature' Laws that have 
to be established by appointment or decree in order to 
become obligatory upon men are not moral laws. 

Now, taking the sabbath as an example, does it rest 
upon the basis of nature, or simply upon divine appoint- 
ment? "The sabbath was made for man" (Mark 2:27). 
Then, if God had not "made" it a holy sabbath, it would 
never have been holy time; hence the sabbatic law was 
positive, not moral; it is never termed "moral" in the 
Bible. To deny this fundamental and unanswerable 
truth is to manifest either a gross ignorance of the sub- 
ject or an inexcusable perverseness. There is nothing 
in nature making one day to differ from another. 

Some say that the sabbath differed from all other 
days originally, because God rested on the seventh day. 
That does not alter the matter; for the real difference 
was in God, not in the day. If the simple fact of God's 
resting on the seventh day made it holy, then every day 
since that time has been holy; for that rest of God was 
rest from creation work, and as creation work was at 
that time all "finished" (Gen. 2: 1-3), it has never been 
resumed. Therefore in the same sense that God rested 
this first time he has rested every day since. 

But God's resting did not change the nature of the 
day, or make it holy. The Bible does not state that 
the seventh day was holy because God rested on it. It 
affirms that the day was holy because God "blessed and 
sanctified it," and that one reason for his thus blessing 
and sanctifying it was "because that in it he had rested 
from all his work" (Gen. 2:2, 3). The resting was one 
thing; the blessing and sanctifying of the day was an- 



452 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

other thing, and a later thing — "he HAD rested." 
Reader, observe this fact. The day was not "blessed 
and sanctified" when God rested at the end of the crea- 
tional period, but at a later date, as this scripture 
clearly shows: "And God blessed the seventh day and 
sanctified it: because that in it he HAD rested from 
all his work" (verse 3). 

Now, when did God "bless and sanctify" the seventh 
day, so that it was "made" a sabbath. The only scrip- 
tures in the Bible answering this question that proceeds 
from Genesis 2, refer to the time of the Israelites in 
the wilderness. Listen to the Word: "Wherefore I 
caused thee to come forth out of the land of Egypt, and 
brought thee into the wilderness, and I gave them my 
statutes, and showed them my judgments .... moreover 
also I gave them my sabbaths, to be a sign between 
me and them" (Ezek 20: 10-12). Did God originate 
statutes and judgments in the wilderness? Yes. He 
says, "I gave them statutes and judgments." Did God 
originate the sabbath in the wilderness? Yes. He 
says, "I gave them my sabbaths." To say that " gave" 
means in the one case originated, and in the other case 
does not, is to wrest Scripture. 

But do the sabbaths mentioned in this text signify the 
seventh day? We will see. They were given, this text 
says, for "a sign." "And remember that thou wast a 
servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy 
God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand 
and by an outstretched arm: therefore the Lord thy God 
commanded thee to keep the Sabbath-day" (Deut. 5: 15). 
"Thou .... gavest them right judgments, and true laws, 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 453 

good statutes and commandments : and madest known 
unto them thy holy sabbath" (Neh. 9:18, 14). Then 
the Israelites did not know the sabbath before this time, 
for it was "made known" in the wilderness. "I gave 
THEM my sabbaths to be a sign/' "Wherefore the 
children of Israel shall keep the sabbath .... It is A 
SIGN between me and the children of Israel forever" 
(Exod. 31: 16, 17). It was "made known" in the wilder- 
ness, "given" "to the children of Israel" as a "sign" 
commemorating their deliverance from Egypt, as well 
as God's rest at creation. In all the Word of God it 
can not be shown that one person other than Jews or 
Jewish proselytes ever had or ever kept the seventh-day 
sabbath; and in every case where its observance is re- 
corded, it was after the exodus from Egypt. 

Now, the book of Genesis was written by Moses after 
the exodus and after the giving of the Sinaitic law. 
Paul quotes Gen. 3:16 as "the law" (1 Cor. 14:34); 
therefore Genesis was in the book of the law. "The 
law was given by Moses" (John 1: 17). But the Scrip- 
ture shows clearly, as all admit, that the law of Moses 
came from the wilderness and from Sinai. According 
to the ordinary chronology, this was many hundreds 
of years after the events described in Genesis 2. There- 
fore let us read Gen. 2 : 3 in the light of the only scrip- 
tures that we have on the subject, which state that the 
sabbath was "given" and "made known" after the 
exodus. "And God blessed the seventh day and sancti- 
fied it [in the wilderness and at Sinai], because that 
in it he HAD rested [at the close of creational week] 
from all his work which God created and made." Genesis 



454 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

2 gives one reason (out of two) why the Sabbath was 
given; for the following scripture, with the others al- 
ready quoted, gives the other reason why it was given 
and the time when it was given: "And remember that 
thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the 
Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty 
hand and by an stretched-out arm: THEREFORE 
the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sah- 
bath-day" (Deut. 5:15). What can be plainer? The 
sabbath was given in the wilderness as a double mem- 
orial, commemorating particularly their deliverance 
from Egyptian bondage, and also God's cessation from 
work at the close of the creative period. 

The sabbath subject, however, does not hinge on the 
matter of a point of time. The time when the sabbath 
was instituted is only secondary. The Passover was 
instituted in Egypt, circumcision in the time of Abra- 
ham, and sacrifices in the family of Adam; and they 
were all incorperated into and became a part of that 
law of Sinai which was abolished at the cross. Hence 
age alone has little to do with the subject. The deter- 
mining factor is the nature of the thing considered. I 
have already shown that the sabbath is "positive," or 
ceremonial, in its nature; hence it was ceremonial, no 
matter when instituted. But let us approach the sub- 
ject from another angle, showing the difference between 
moral and ceremonial things, and proving that the Sab- 
bath was not moral, thus : 

1. The term "moral" pertains to character, or quality. 
When objects are made holy ceremonially, their true 
character, or quality, is not changed; only their use is 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 455 

changed. Even God can not do contradictory things 
(see Tit. 1:2). He can not make an object morally 
holy unless it is first morally unholy. Thus, unholy 
men can be made holy in the true sense. But no day is 
by nature unholy; therefore no day can be made morally 
holy. This distinction is fundamental; hence this point 
is simply unanswerable. 

2. Moral principles are universal, binding upon all 
men and at all times. Such a thing as an intermittent 
application of moral principles is absurd. Who would 
think of arguing that it is wrong to kill men one day, 
but right for the next six days? Killing involves moral 
law, a law written subjectively in the hearts of men. 
It is binding upon all. It knows no relaxing. But the 
sabbath is simply a ceremonial repetition. The thing 
that is perfectly right for six days becomes, on the 
seventh day, entirely wrong; or, what is still more ab- 
surd on a round earth, the act that is entirely wrong 
in one place is altogether right in another place at the 
same time, the difference being occasioned by the well- 
known difference in time between distant points. How 
foolish to talk that such is moral law, when the whole 
subject depends upon the successive manifestation of 
sunshine ! 

S. Moral law, when deeply impressed in the heart of 
an individual, can never be completely lost. A person 
may lose the favor of God and become a most wretched 
sinner, but his knowledge of what is morally right and 
wrong remains almost undiminished. Even after the 
lapse of ages since the original fall, the Gentiles, Paul 
shows, still have God's law in their hearts to the extent 



456 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

that it makes them morally responsible (Rom. 2: 14, 15). 

Now, a person may, through fever or other causes, 
become delirious for days; but when reason returns, all 
moral law is still in his heart as before. But test the 
sabbath idea by this. The person who has lost his 
reason for days can never by himself recover his sabbath, 
for his reckoning is lost. This is absolute proof that the 
sabbatical law is ceremonial; THAT IT IS NOT, AND 
NEVER CAN BE, WRITTEN IN A MAN'S HEART. 
The person can have a willingness in his heart to keep 
sabbath if necessary, just the same as he can be willing 
to keep the Passover, Pentecost, or any other external 
ceremonial observance; but the Sabbath itself is not in 
his heart. Now, the new covenant, as the Word of 
God declares, is written in the hearts of God's people 
(Heb. 8:10); therefore the sabbath is no part of the 
new covenant. 

If the sabbath were intended to stand associated with 
the new covenant as a ceremonial observance, as baptism, 
the Lord's Supper, feet-washing, etc., it would have to 
be positively enjoined in the "law of Christ"; for, as 
we have observed, the old covenant was abolished at the 
cross. Not one of the Old Testament ceremonial observ- 
ances has a place in the law of Christ under the new 
covenant. Even those moral principles contained in the 
first covenant are not authoritative now on account of 
their having been formerly associated with the law; but 
their authority is inherent, underived from any national 
code in which they have been placed. Moral laws, as 
I have shown, are the universal, higher law on which 
"hang all the law and the prophets." They did not 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 457 

arise with the Mosaic system neither did they disap- 
pear with the Mosaic system; and, what is more, they 
derive no authority whatever from the Mosaic system 
after it has been abolished. 

If the new covenant is a "better covenant/' a "perfect 
law of liberty" ( Jas. 1 : 25), as the Word affirms, it 
must of necessity reveal moral law in a perfect manner; 
therefore every moral principle formerly contained in 
the Mosaic system is also placed in the gospel system; 
and this system, "the law of Christ," now possesses all 
authority over men — an authority as direct and inde- 
pendent as though there had never been a law of Moses, 
moral or ceremonial. We are under no obligations 
whatever to any principle of whatsoever nature unless it 
can be shown to be a constituent part of the revealed 
"law of Christ" under the new covenant. 

By arguments which, I confidently assert, will never 
be answered I have shown in the present chapter that 
the sabbath was in its nature ceremonial. Over and 
over again it was classed with the ceremonial observances 
of the law, heading the list of sacred days. In agreement 
with its nature and classification, the apostle Paul as- 
serts that it is abolished: "Blotting out the handwriting 
of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary 
to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross, 
.... Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in 
drink, or in respect of an holy day, or of the new moon, 
or of the sabbath-days: which are a shadow of things 
to come; but the body is of Christ" (Col. 2:14-17). 
That this expression "the sabbath-days" means the 
weekly sabbath I will show by definite scriptures. 



458 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

1. Both the singular and the plural of the sabbath are 
used to designate the seventh day. "My sabbaths ye 
shall keep .... it is a sign .... wherefore the children 
of Israel shall keep the sabbath" (Exod. 31:13, 16, 
17). So Lev. 23:37, 38; Isa. 56: 2, 4; Ezek. 20:12; 
Matt. 12:10; Luke 4:31; Acts 17:2. "Have ye not 
read in the law, how that on the sabbath-days the priests 
in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?" 
(Matt. 12:5). In all these scriptures sabbath-days 
and sabbath are the same, meaning the weekly seventh 
day. So Col. 2:16 — "Let no man judge you, .... 
in respect of ... . the sabbath-days." In every place 
where the term "sabbath" occurs in the fourth command- 
ment of the decalogue it is plural in the Greek. 

2. The only Greek word ever used in the Bible for 
the term "sabbath"- — sabbaton — is the very word Paul 
used here, where he asserts that the sabbath is abolished. 

3. The identical list of Jewish days which Paul says 
was abolished is given many times in the Old Testament, 
and in such a manner as to prove that the sabbath-days 
mean the weekly sabbath. As follows: 

In Numbers 28 and 29 we have a detailed account 
of all the offerings required by the law. First, we have 
the daily offerings (verses 3, 4). Secondly, weekly 
offerings. "And on the sabbath-day two lambs of the 
first year without spot .... this is the burnt offering 
of every sabbath" (verses 9, 10). Thirdly, we have the 
new moons — monthly offerings. "And in the beginning 
of your months, ye shall offer a burnt offering," etc. 
(verse 11). Fourthly, we have the annual feast-days. "And 
in the fourteenth dav of the first month is the Passover of 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 459 

the Lord" (verse 16). The remainder of chapter 28 and 
chapter 29 gives the details concerning these feasts. 
"These things shall ye do unto the Lord in your set feasts" 
(chap. 29: 89). This gives the dally, weekly, monthly, 
and annual offerings; or, in other words, those offerings 
performed every day, on the sabbath-days on the new 
moons and on the annual feast-days. I will now 
give a number of texts showing how carefully this list 
was observed, and where it is given, time and again, in 
almost the identical language of Col. 2: 16. 

1 Chron. 23: SO, 31 — "To stand every morning to 
thank and praise the Lord, and likewise at even; and to 
offer all burnt sacrifices unto the Lord in the sabbaths, 
in the new moons, and on the set feasts, by number, 
according to the order commanded unto thee." This 
follows the exact list given in Numbers 28 and 29, and 
"the sabbaths" are the weekly sabbaths, as every one 
can see. 

2 Chron. 2 : 4 — "Behold, I build an house to the name 
of the Lord my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn 
before him sweet incense, and for the continual show- 
bread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, 
on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the 
solemn feasts of the Lord our God." Same list again — 
daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly offerings. But "the 
sabbaths" are the weekly sabbaths and nothing else. 

The list is exactly the same in 2 Chron. 8: 13; Neh. 
10:33; also in 2 Chron. 31:3, with "the sabbaths" 
designating the seventh day. 

"Offerings in the feasts, in the new moons, and in the 
sabbaths" (Ezek. 45: 17). 



460 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"Took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross .... 
Let no man therefore judge you .... in respect of ... . 
a feast-day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath-days 
(Col. 2: 14-16, R. V.). 

Paul was no novice in the things of the law. He 
knew that this classification of the Jewish holy days, and 
knew that the expression "the sabbath-days," when thus 
classified with new moons and feasts, always referred 
to the seventh-day sabbath. Now the question comes, 
If he knew this, why did he use the expression "sabbath- 
days" when speaking of the things abolished by Christ? 
The evident answer is, Because he wished to convey 
the idea that the seventh-day sabbath was abolished. 

Notice how consistent this is with Paul's ministry and 
teaching. He was particularly the apostle of the Gen- 
tiles. He says that the Gentiles "have not the law" 
(Rom. 2: 14). They never kept the sabbath. Now, 
if we include Hebrews, Paul wrote fourteen of the New 
Testament Epistles; and the most of his Epistles were 
either written directly to Gentile churches or else directly 
concerned Gentile churches. In his epistles he gives 
us over and over again exhaustive lists of evil things 
but not once does he mention sabbath-breaking as a bad 
thing. He also gives us many times long lists of good 
things that the churches must do; yet not once does 
he mention sabbath-keeping as a good thing. His only 
direct reference to the sabbath, calling it by name, is 
in Col. 2: 16, where he says it was abolished. Is this 
the method of a Sabbatarian sent to evangelize sabbath- 
breakers ? 

People who are anxious to perpetuate the sabbath 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 461 

under the gospel dispensation affirm that Christ kept 
the sabbath and that therefore we must keep it. Christ 
was "made under the law" (Gal. 4:4); while we "are 
not under the law, but under grace" (Rom. 6:14). 
But Christ was circumcised also. The law was not 
abolished until his death; therefore as he was a Jew, 
born and brought up under the law, it was perfectly 
natural that he should pay respect to the law. Can it 
be shown that Christ kept the sabbath as a moral com- 
mandment? Of course, it can not. If it could, Christ 
would stand convicted of sin, for the Word of God 
affirms that Christ broke the sabbath on at least one 
occasion. "Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus and 
sought to slay him, because he had done these things 
on the sabbath-day. But Jesus answered them, My 
Father worketh hitherto and I work. Therefore the 
Jews sought the more to kill him because he not only 
had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his 
Father, making himself equal with God" (John 5:16- 
18). It was not the Jews, but John, who recorded the 
fact that Christ "had broken the sabbath." But it was 
a fact, no matter who said it. He commanded the sick 
man to take up his bed and walk (verse 12) ; while the 
old command was, Thou shalt "bear no burden on the 
sabbath-day" (Jer. 17: 21, 22). See Neh. IS: 19; Exod. 
20: 10. However, the sabbath was not abolished until 
the death of Christ; therefore Christ's observing it has 
no bearing on the sabbath question under the new cove- 
nant. 

It is sometimes urged that, as the Bible says the sab- 
bath is to be "perpetual," "forever," "everlasting," 



462 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"throughout your generations," etc., it can never be 
repealed. But almost every ceremonial thing in the law 
is stated in the same language. Thus, the Passover, 
incense, burnt offerings, atonement, Pentecost, feast of 
tabernacles, circumcision, etc., were all to be observed 
'perpetually," "throughout your generations," "forever," 
etc., as can be seen by referring to the following scrip- 
tures: Exod. 12: 14; 30: 8; 29:42; 30: 10; Lev. 23:21, 
41; Gen. 17: 13; Exod. 31: 16, 17. 

The very fact that these time-specifying words are 
used with reference to these legal enactments proves 
their "positive," or ceremonial, character. Moral pre- 
cepts are never so stated in the Bible, because they exist 
not by enactment, but by nature. But in order that 
these ceremonial things might be maintained without 
negligence, it was necessary to state that they must 
be observed "perpetually," etc.; that is, they were to 
remain intact during the lifetime of that system of 
which they formed a part. But the New Testament 
teaches that the old system has been abolished, together 
with its offerings, incense, sabbath, circumcision, Pass- 
over, and all other ceremonial observances. 

Some people say that since Paul and other Christians 
kept the sabbath we also must. What has this to do 
with the subject? I have already shown that the whole 
church in Judea for a long time after the cross observed 
all of the law — sabbath, Pentecost, meats, refusing to 
eat with Gentiles, vows, circumcision and everything. 
If that makes sabbath-keeping obligatory, it also binds 
the whole law upon us. Jewish converts only kept the 
sabbath. The reason for this, as I have shown before, 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 463 

was that they did not at that time understand clearly 
the relation existing between law and gospel, and did 
not apprehend that the old covenant ceased with the 
introduction of the new covenant; therefore they en- 
deavored to keep both together. They tried to keep 
Isaac and Ishmael and their mothers in the same family. 
It required a special vision to prepare the way for Peter 
to go to Cornelius, a Gentile. Even then his Jewish 
brethren severely reproved him for going to those un- 
circumcised and eating with them. But later, at the 
council at Jerusalem (Acts 15), they had received suf- 
ficient light to free the Gentile converts from obedience 
to the law, but they themselves remained under it still. 
Later the apostle Paul brought out the clear light con- 
cerning the true relation of the two covenants, showing 
that the first ceased at the cross. But all could not 
appreciate such deep truth immediately; therefore when 
necessary Paul adapted himself to the conditions exist- 
ing. "Unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might 
gain the Jews" (1 Cor. 9: 20). He went into the Jewish 
synagogues on their sabbaths, when they were gathered 
together, and preached to them; but in every such in- 
stance recorded it was before a Christian church had 
been established at the place. There is no record in the 
New Testament of a Christian church meeting together 
for divine worship on the seventh day. 

Some law-observers could not see the full gospel 
light quickly; therefore Paul was inclined to bear with 
them. This is his illustration: "Him that is weak in the 
faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For 
one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is 



464 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

weak, eateth herbs" (Rom. 14: 1, 2). His illustration 
means that the one who can eat "all things" is the strong 
man, and the one who can eat only herbs is "weak." 
This prepares the way for the thought which the apostle 
wishes to bring out; accordingly he goes on to say: 
"One man esteemeth one day above another: another 
esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully 
persuaded in his own mind" (verse 5). Paul knew 
that under the gospel there is no difference in the days 
themselves; but those who were "strong" in this knowl- 
edge were obliged to bear with the "weak" man who 
was still observing the holy days of the law. After the 
brethren at Galatia, had gotten out from under the 
entire law, certain Judaizing teachers came in during 
Paul's absence and "bewitched" them by "perverting 
the gospel of Christ" and persuading them to "turn 
again" to the observance of days. So Paul wrote to 
them, "Are ye so foolish?" "Ye observe days [sabbath- 
days] and months [new moons] and times [annual 
feasts] and years [sabbatical years]. I am afraid of 
you, lest I have bestowed upon you labor in vain" (Gal. 
4:10, 11). 

Without seeking for the true explanation, some people 
regard Isa. 66 : 22, 23 as teaching that the sabbath will 
be observed in the new world hereafter and that it must 
therefore be observed in the Christian dispensation. 
The text reads: "For as the new heavens and the new 
earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith 
the Lord, so shall your seed and your name remain. 
And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to 
another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 465 

flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord." This 
text has "new moons" as well as sabbaths, and Paul 
clearly teaches that new moons are abolished with the 
sabbath. 

Now, even if this scripture from Isaiah is applied 
to the heavenly world hereafter, it is easy to show that 
the description of its worship pertaining to days is only 
symbolic, and not literal. John says, "I saw a new 
heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the 
first earth were passed away" (Rev. 21:1). Did he 
see literal new moons and sabbaths in it? "The city 
had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine 
in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb 
is the light thereof .... There shall be no night there" 
(Rev. 21 : 23-25). There will be no new moons in heaven 
in reality, neither succession of days; therefore sabbaths 
are impossible. 

Isaiah 66 is simply a highly symbolic description, the 
language being based on the religious customs of the 
age in which it was written. In the immediate context 
of this verse we have "holy mountain," "Jerusalem," 
"Israel," "clean vessel," "house of the Lord," "priests," 
"Levites," and then immediately following, "new moon," 
"sabbath." Not one of these things will have a literal 
distinction in heaven. There will not even be a "house 
of the Lord" there; for John declares, "I saw no temple 
therein" (Rev. 21:22). 

OBJECT OF LAW CEREMONIES. 
All of the ceremonial observances of the law served 
a distinct purpose. In Col. 2, where they are summed 



466 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

up as feast-days, new moons, and sabbath-days, Paul 
says, they "are a shadow of things to come; but the 
body is of Christ" (verse 16, 17). This shows that they 
occupy a typical relation. So also the writer of the 
Hebrews represents the law as "having a shadow of 
good things to come, but not the very image of the things" 
thus foreshadowed (Heb. 10: 1). Some ceremonies of 
the law served a double purpose, being memorials of 
past events as well as types of something future; for 
example, the Passover, which commemorated the miracu- 
lous preservation of the Hebrews from death when the 
first-born were slain in Egypt; while it also pointed for- 
ward to "Christ our passover, who is sacrificed for us" 
(1 Cor. 5:7). Likewise the sabbath had a sort of three- 
fold signification; it commemorated both the deliverance 
of Israel from Egyptian bondage, and the rest of God 
at the close of the creative period ; while it was also a 
"shadow of things to come," meeting a fulfilment under 
the gospel of Christ, as we shall now see. 

A symbol is something that stands as the representa- 
tive, not of itself, but of something analogous, to which 
it bears a certain resemblance. The symbol and the 
thing symbolized stand in different departments, and the 
thing symbolized is greater than the symbol; therefore 
the types of the law were not "the very image of the 
things" that they were intended to represent. The 
sacrifice of a lamb under the law did not typify the death 
of another literal lamb, but pointed forward to Christ's 
sacrificial offering. 

Paul names the sabbath as one of the things which 
were "a shadow of things to come" (Col. 2: 17). What 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 467 

can the sabbath typify? It must symbolize something 
in another department that bears a certain analogy to 
it. Where shall we look for its fulfilment? Let us 
first observe its position in the type; then we can tell 
exactly where to look for its position and signification 
in the antitype. The sabbath was inscribed on the 
tables which were placed in the ark. This is set forth 
in the Scriptures as representative of the new covenant 
laws in our hearts in the gospel age (Heb. 8:9, 10). 
Therefore the antitype of the sabbath is also in our 
hearts. It can not represent another literal-day sabbath, 
for that would destroy the true relation of type and anti- 
type. Besides, as I have already shown, a literal day 
can not be written in a person's heart. Not one of the 
Old Testament ceremonies represented literal ceremonies 
under the gospel, but every one met a spiritual fulfil- 
ment; accordingly the sabbath commandment reaches 
its fulfilment antitypically in something spiritual in the 
heart. The literal sabbath was bodily rest; the spiritual 
sabbath is — what? Soul-rest. Praise the Lord! Our 
great Redeemer, who has established the new covenant, 
said: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy- 
laden and I will give you rest .... And ye shall find 
rest unto your souls" (Matt. 11:28, 29). "His rest 
shall be glorious," exclaimed the prophet (Isa. 11:10), 
and all the blood-washed can reply that it is even so. 
Glory be to God ! 

This is the interpretation of the sabbath question 
given by the writer of the Hebrews. He first speaks of 
the seventh-day sabbath, which he evidently regards as 
a type of another "rest," which Christians enter by faith. 



468 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on 
this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his 
works. And in this place again, If they shall enter 
into my rest. Seeing therefore that it remaineth that 
some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first 
preached entered not in because of unbelief: again he 
limiteth a certain day, saying in David [the Psalms], 
Today, after so long a time; as it is said, Today if ye 
will hear his voice, harden not your hearts. For if Jesus 
[Joshua, margin] had given them rest, then would he 
not afterward have spoken of another day. THERE 
REMAINETH THEREFORE A REST TO THE 
PEOPLE OF GOD. For he that is entered into his 
rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God 
did from his" (Heb. 4:4-10). The following facts 
appear so clear in this scripture that they ran not be 
overlooked : 

1. The Israelites, with their seventh day sabbath, 
did not obtain true rest. 

2. Those later, under Joshua, did not obtain it after 
they were established in Canaan. 

3. Therefore David prophesied concerning "another 
day," which the inspired writer interprets as the gospel 
day, and which has finally come "after so long a time." 

4. "Today" — the gospel day — "there remaineth there- 
fore a rest ["the keeping of a sabbath," margin] to the 
people of God." 

5. This rest, or sabbath, is spiritual in its nature, 
for it is obtained by faith — "We which have believed 
do enter into rest" (verse 3). 

6. This spiritual rest, or sabbath, whieh "remaineth 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 469 

to the people of God" is the direct antitype of the seventh- 
day sabbath. "For he that is entered into his rest, he 
also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from 
his/' Notice carefully this sixth point. When God 
ceased the work of creation, he ceased once for all. 
Likewise we in obtaining this spiritual sabbath cease 
perpetually from our own works, as God did from his. 
This makes our sabbath a perpetual one. Our "own 
works," from which we must cease forever in order to 
enter into this rest that "remaineth to the people of God," 
include everything that is contrary to rest — self, self- 
efforts, sins, and all. It is by faith that we "enter into 
rest." 

Reader, the true sabbath of the gospel dispensation 
is not the observance of any literal day. We have a 
perpetual sabbath, a rest to the soul. 

"How sweet is my rest! 
And how richly I'm blest! 

Oh, how sweet is the rest of my soul ! ' ' 

Since our sins are all gone and we have indeed "en- 
tered into his rest," we are able to "serve him without 
fear, in holiness and righteousness before him, all the 
days of our life" (Luke 1:74, 75). Every day is a 
day of holiness to the true Christian because in the gos- 
pel dispensation holiness is not attached to one day out 
of seven, but pertains to the man himself; and he must 
live holily every day in seven. And when he really 
understands the subject^ he "esteemeth every day alike 1 ' 
(Rom. 14: 5), so far as moral things and moral holiness 
is concerned. 

The removal of the Old Testament system of cere- 



470 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

monial things carried with it also the abolition of its 
distinctions between meats clean and unclean (Lev. 11). 
The New Testament knows no such rule. Paul says, 
"I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that 
there is nothing unclean of itself" (Rom. 14: 14). The 
Christian has liberty to decide every matter of this 
kind, and to eat any kind of meat that he likes. That 
this is the New Testament standard can be seen by the 
following texts: Mark 7:18, 19 (especially in Revised 
Version); Rom. 14: 1-3, 14, 15; 1 Tim. 4:3-5. "Ye are 
not under the law, but under grace." 

NEW TESTAMENT CEREMONIES. 

The new covenant, while placed in the hearts of God's 
people, is not to be hidden there. We have a particular 
relationship with each other and with a world of sinners. 
For this reason God has seen fit to give us in this dispen- 
sation a system of ceremonial observances designed as 
channels of expression, through which we manifest 
openly our redemption, faith, love, and hope, also the 
spontaneous worship of our hearts. 

The ceremonial observances of the gospel, however, 
do not possess the rigidity of the law system. Peter 
describes that system as "a yoke upon the neck of the 
disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able 
to bear" (Acts 15:10). The ceremonies of Christ ;m 
no such yoke as that, but they are a yoke nevertheless. 
"It is good for a man, that he bear the yohe in his youth" 
(Lam. 3:27). Jesus says, "Take my yoke upon you" 
(Matt. 11:29). There are obligations under the new 
covenant dispensation, and these we must take. The 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 471 

Lord, however, has given us this comforting assurance: 
"My yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (verse 30). 

The great things experienced and enjoyed by the new 
covenant believer which require open and public mani- 
festation are: 1. Our individual salvation; our private 
acceptance of Christ and the authority and law of his 
kingdom. 2. The procuring cause of redemption as 
experienced in the believer; the ground of all salvation, 
and the basis of our hopes, present and future — the 
atonement. 3. The depth of that true and special love 
which exists between us as the real disciples of Christ. 
4. Our worship and our faith. These I will consider 
in the order given. 

1. Our individual salvation; our private acceptance 
of Christ and the authority and law of his kingdom. 
The external ceremony by which this is manifested pub- 
licly to the world is the rite of water-baptism. In this 
act we testify that our sins are gone; that Christ is our 
personal Savior; and that we are willing to obey and 
follow him in all of his commandments. The subject 
of baptism has been considered at length in Chapter 
XIII, so that a mere reference to it in this place will 
suffice. 

2. The procuring cause of redemption; the ground of 
all salvation, and the basis of our hopes, present and 
future — the atonement. The Lord's Supper, or commun- 
ion, is the outward symbol of this. While in the nature 
of the case the analogy is not and can not be very promi- 
nent, still when it is known that we partake of these nat- 
ural elements for the express purpose of commemorating 



472 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

our Lord's sufferings and death, our observing this or- 
dinance shows the reality of our faith in that atone- 
ment; that upon it all our hopes are built. For a more 
complete treatment of this subject, see Chapter XIV. 

3. The depth of that true and special love which exists 
between us as the real disciples of Christ. Some one 
may wonder why an external ceremony should be neces- 
sary in order to express this. By what means, then, 
can it be expressed? If we visit a brother when he is 
afflicted, do we thereby do any more than sinners? Do 
they not visit their sick friends? We may give means 
to help him when he is in distress; sinners do the same 
by their friends. We may associate closely with him; 
sinners also form close associations. There is no ordi- 
nary act of kindness, respect, or hospitality that will bear 
convincing proof of the superiority of our brotherly 
love. How, then, can it be expressed? By our humbly 
and willingly performing a service for our brethren 
which sinners do not and will not do. 

Here is that New Testament ceremony, in the words 
of Christ: "If I then, your Lord and Master, have 
washed your feet: ye also ought to wash one another's 
feet. For I have given you an example that ye should 
do as I have done to you" (John 13: 14, 15). At first 
Peter objected to this service, but Jesus said to him, 
"What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know 
hereafter" (verse 7). Peter did not understand why 
Christ was doing this. After he had finished this work 
and given the express command that they also should 
do it (verses 14, 15) — while they were still in the same 
room and surrounding the same table — he explained 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 473 

why he instituted this new service and required it of 
them. Here are his words: "A new commandment I 
give unto you, That ye love one another as I have loved 
you" (verse 34). The requirement to love, as expressed 
in ordinary acts of kindness, was not "new"; it is as 
old as creation. Long before this occasion Christ had 
given a commandment to love, a commandment so com- 
plete as to require them to love even their enemies 
(Matt. 5:44). But in this place he gave emphatically 
a "new commandment" and yet a commandment of 
love. Notice how nicely verse 34 explains verse 15. 
Verse 15: "ye should do as I have done to you/' Verse 
34: "Love one another as I have loved you." But why 
was it given? The next verse explains: "By THIS 
shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have 
[such] love one to another" (verse 35). This act truly 
expresses our deep love for each other, for it is a spe- 
cial act; and at the same time it specially distinguishes 
us before "all men" as the "disciples" of Christ. 

4. Our worship and our faith. The worship, praise, 
and devotion experienced by every saved believer re- 
quires external expression, and the faith of the gospel 
by which he has been saved must be preached to all men, 
as Christ has commanded; therefore the necessity of 
public worship. It is certainly in accordance with the 
law of Christ that his people should at intervals be 
"gathered together in his name" (Matt. 18:20). In 
order to accomplish this there must be a place where 
they assemble, and a time when they assemble. That 
the apostolic church had regular public services is shown 
by the Scriptures. "Not forsaking the assembling of 



474 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ourselves together, as the manner of some is" (Heb. 10: 
25). 

In the old dispensation when the Israelites were estab- 
lished in Palestine, God set his name in Jerusalem, and 
that city became "the place where men ought to worship" 
(John 4:20). But Christ taught the woman at the 
well-side in Samaria that henceforward God's worship 
would not be localized, either in Jerusalem or in Mount 
Gerizim, but that the "true worshipers" should "wor- 
ship the Father in Spirit and in truth" (John 4: 21-23). 
The gospel is to be preached in all the nations. There- 
fore the New Testament gives us no instructions as to 
the geographical place where the "true worshipers" 
are to "assemble together" for divine service. This is 
left to the judgment of the worshipers themselves. 

But as to the time when Christians should meet to- 
gether for public worship, it is possible to have at least 
a practical uniformity in this respect; therefore the 
New Testament has left us the example of one particu- 
lar day in each week, not as a holy sabbath, but as a 
day of worship. And this is necessary to our spiritual 
well-being. Men in the world can not assemble together 
every day for this purpose; so there must be a definite 
time devoted to the service of God. And when that time 
is fixed, all Christians must remember the command of 
the Word, "not forsaking the assembling of ourselves 
together." "Which is the day? 

I have already shown that the three preceding cere- 
monial observances of the New Testament church were 
established in order to express openly certain things 
experienced in the heart of the individual believer. 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 475 

But they also bear a particular relationship with certain 
facts in the foundation of Christianity itself. Thus, 
Christian baptism alludes to the death, burial, and resur- 
rection of Christ (Rom. 6:3-5). Feet-washing among 
the "saints" (1 Tim. 5: 10) does not stand as an act of 
brotherly love alone, but we do it because our Lord did 
it. So also the Lord's Supper is not simply the mere 
communion of saints in a close brotherly bond, but it is 
also commemorative of the sufferings and death of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Then the New Testament day of 
worship should also bear a particular relation with some 
fundamental fact in the foundation of Christianity. 
What shall it commemorate? his atonement? No; that 
is accomplished by the communion. His resurrection' 
This "first day of the week" on which our Lord came 
forth from the dead (Mark 16: 9) was the most glorious 
day in the history of this world. If it is necessary 
that there be in the Christian dispensation an institu- 
tion to commemorate the great fact of Christ's death, then 
it is positively necessary that there also be in the Chris- 
tian dispensation something to commemorate the greatest 
of all events — his resurrection. For "if Christ be not 
risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also 
vain" (1 Cor. 15:14). All the New Testament insti- 
tutions are distinctively Christian; not one is borrowed 
from the old dispensation. And if, formerly, the sab- 
bath was given to commemorate the completion of natural 
creation, how appropriate that the day of Christian wor- 
ship should commemorate the resurrection of Christ, 
who thus stands at the head of the new and spiritual 
creation ! 



476 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

The first meeting of the disciples after the resurrec- 
tion took place on this day. "Then the same day at 
evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors 
were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear 
of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and said 
unto them, Peace be unto you .... Then were the dis- 
ciples glad when they saw the Lord" (John 20: 19, 20). 

The second meeting was just one week later. "And 
after eight days again his disciples were within, and 
Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being 
shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto 
you" (verse 26). On this occasion Thomas was glad 
when he saw the Lord. "After eight days"; that is, 
after the arrival of the eighth day; the phrase means 
the same as "the eighth day." This expression, "the 
eighth day," was so commonly used in the law to signify 
the completion of one week that it can mean nothing else 
in this place (see Lev. 23: 35, 36) ; just as we now men- 
tion the eighth tone of the musical scale, meaning the 
first of the succeeding octave. Nor does the expression 
"after eight days" alter the matter, as we can see by 
their ordinary mode of expression. Thus, "in three 
days," "the third day," and "after three days" (Matt. 
27:40; Matt. 20:19; Mark 8:31) are all used to de- 
scribe the same period of time. Therefore "in eight days," 
"the eighth day," and "after eight days" signify the same 
thing — one week later. Nearly all of the early Christian 
writers term the resurrection-day the eighth day. 

A little later we have the mention of a notable meet- 
ing of the church. "And when the day of Pentecost 
was fully come they were all with one accord in one 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 477 

place" (Acts 2:1). Pentecost came on the morrow 
after the Jewish sabbath (Lev. 23:15, 16), therefore 
was on Sunday, the first day of the week. 

We have another meeting of the Christian church on 
Sunday, which took place at Troas, in Asia Minor. "And 
upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came 
together to break bread, Paul preached unto them" 
(Acts 20:7). Here we have the communion service on 
the first day. Now, this meeting did not occur just be- 
cause the apostle happened to be there that day, for he 
was there a number of days (see verse 6). But on the 
first day of the week they came together, and the facts 
and the language fairly imply that they were in the 
habit of doing this — "Upon the first day of the week, 
when the disciples came together to break bread" 

While the writer was on a special missionary tour in 
the Levant, his steamer sailed along the west coast of 
Asia Minor, following closely the course taken by Paul's 
ship on the occasion of this visit to Troas; therefore the 
writer closely observed the typography of the country 
and the location of these different stopping-places men- 
tioned in Acts 20. The study of these facts throws light 
on Acts 20 : 7. Between Troas and Assos, Cape Baba, 
the most westerly point in Asia, juts out into the Aegean 
Sea. Assos is located east of this point, while Troas 
lies toward the north; the direct distance between these 
places, across the promontory, being about twenty-two 
miles. The country here is covered with low ranges of 
mountains. 

According to Acts 20, Paul's trip was from Philippi, 
in Macedonia, to Jerusalem, and he was evidently in a 



478 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

great hurry, as verse 1G shows. Seven brethren pre- 
ceded him to Troas and waited for his arrival with Luke. 
At Troas they waited a number of days, when the eight 
brethren took ship around this promontory to Assos, 
leaving Paul behind. "And we went before to ship and 
sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for 
so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. And 
when he met with us at Assos, we took him in and came 
to Mitylene" (verses 13, 14). 

From this it will be seen that Paul's meeting with 
the brethren at Troas on the first day of the week was 
not accidental; because by waiting for this he missed 
his ship and was obliged to make a long walk of probably 
twenty-five or thirty miles over the mountains in order 
to overtake the boat while it waited at Assos on the 
other side of the promontory. Now, why did Paul choose 
this laborious alternative? Evidently, because he had a 
great desire to be at Troas "on the first day of the week, 
when the disciples came together to break bread." On 
this occasion they probably gathered from the surround- 
ing country, and the apostle did not want to leave with- 
out being with them in this general gathering, which 
would not take place until "the first day of the week." 

But Paul's waiting here was not because Sunday was 
so sacred or holy that it would have been a sin to travel 
then ; for Luke, Timothy, Tychicus, Trophimus, and four 
other brethren went in the ship from Troas, while the 
apostle remained behind. These facts clearly indicate 
that "the first day of the week" was their regular meet- 
ing-day — the day "when the disciples came together." 

So also the idea of regular meetings on Sunday is 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 479 

sustained by a proper consideration of 1 Cor. 16:1-4: 
"Now concerning the collection for the saints as I have 
given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 
Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay 
by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there 
be no gatherings when I come. And when I come, whom- 
soever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send 
to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem. And if it be 
meet that I go also, they shall go with me." Now, that 
this collection was a public one and a single one is 
shown by the fact that it is contrasted with "gatherings 
when I come." It is also shown by what he wrote to 
the Roman brethren: "But now I go unto Jerusalem to 
minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of 
Macedonia and Achaia to make a certain contribution for 
the poor saints which are at Jerusalem" (Rom. 15:25, 
26). This was all the same general effort to raise money, 
and it was done by "contribution," "collection." The 
very meaning of "collect" is to bring together. Why 
were the saints at Corinth instructed to bring their offer- 
ings together, each one doing his part, on that particular 
day? The answer is easy, in the light of other scrip- 
tures and the practise of the primitive church: Because 
that was their regular meeting-day. Money thus col- 
lected in the "store," or public treasury, would be ready 
when the apostle came, so that "no gatherings" would be 
necessary at that time. 

This custom, instituted at first for a special purpose, 
evidently became general in the churches afterwards ; for 
in the second century we find Justin Martyr referring 
to such regular collection on the first day of the week. 



480 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

He says : "And on the day called Sunday, all who live in 
cities or in the country gather together to one place, and 
the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the proph- 
ets are read as long as time permits. And them that are 
well-to-do and willing, give what each thinks fit: and 
what is collected is deposited with the president, who 
succors the orphans and widows, and those .... who are 
in want," etc. — First Apology of Justin, Chap. LXVII. 

The day of the resurrection was so glorious to the 
Christian church that it was ever afterwards called "the 
Lord's day." And it is appropriately thus designated. 
"The Lord's Supper," commemorating his death, is dis- 
tinctively Christian; therefore the day of worship, com- 
memorating his resurrection, must be "the Lord's day." 
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day" (Rev. 1: 10). 
All subsequent Christians called Sunday "the Lord's 
day." I have before me at this writing many historical 
evidences, but from lack of space I will refer only to the 
following writers, all of whom apply the expression 
"Lord's day" to the first day of the week: "Teaching of 
the Apostles," A. D. 125; Dionysius, Bishop of Corinth, 
A. D. 170; Clement of Alexandria, A. D. 194; Origen, 
A. D. 225; "Apostolical Constitutions," A. D. 250; 
Antaolius, Bishop of Laodicea, A. D. 270; Victorinus, A. 
D. 300; Peter, Bishop of Alexandria, A. D. 306; Euse- 
bius, A. D. 324. No writer has ever once called any day 
other than Sunday "the Lord's day." 

That Sunday was intended to be the worship-day of 
the Christian church is further shown by the fact that 
God himself placed his approval and seal upon it, by 
making it the day of divine revelation, both to the church 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 481 

itself and to the world. On that day Christ revealed 
himself and the most startling facts of his truth to the 
assembled disciples (John 20: 19). On that day he 
revealed himself specially to Thomas, one of the Twelve 
(John 20:26-29). On that day the Holy Ghost dis- 
pensation began; the Holy Spirit himself was revealed 
to the sons of men in a new capacity; the church was 
ordained and set in order, clothed with the gifts of the 
Spirit. On that day the apostle John in the Isle of Pat- 
mos was "in the Spirit," and received the wonderful 
visions of the Apocalypse. Every new, special, and glor- 
ious thing, on record that God made known to the apostles 
in the new dispensation was revealed on the first day of 
the week. It is "the Lord's day/' and therefore it was 
the Lord's revelation-day. 

From this fountain-nead of regular weekly worship on 
the first day of the week, established by Christ and the 
apostles, we can easily trace in a continual stream the 
same custom during all of the ages. Space forbids more 
than the mere reference to a few. 

Pliny, Governor of Bithynia, in Asia Mnor, A. D. 
106-108, wrote to the emperor Trajan concerning the 
Christians, as following: "They were wont to meet to- 
gether on a stated day before it was light, and sing among 
themselves alternately a hymn to Chrst as God." When 
was this "stated day" that they came together to 
worship Christ as God? Eusebius, after referring to a 
passage in the Psalms, says, "By this is prophetically 
signified the service which is performed very early and 
every morning of the resurrection-day throughout the 
whole world." — Sabbath Manual, p 125. This was writ- 



482 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ten in Asia Minor, where the churches were thoroughly 
established by the apostles themselves, and only a few 
years after the death of the apostles. It was not far 
from Troas, where the disciples met together for worship 
''on the first day of the week" when Paul was with them. 

Barnabas (A. D. 120) says, "We keep the eighth day 
with joy fulness, the day, also, on which Jesus rose again 
from the dead." Chap. XV. 

"The Teaching of the Apostles" (A. D. 125) says, 
"But every Lord's day do ye gather yourselves together, 
and break bread, and give thanksgiving." 

Justin Martyr (A. D. 140) says: "And on the day 
which is called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the 
country gather together to one place, and the memoirs 
of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read 

as long as time permits Sunday is the day on which 

we all hold our common assembly, because .... Jesus 
Christ, our Savior, on the same day rose from the dead. 
For he was crucified on the day before that of Saturn 
[Saturday] ; and on the day after that of Saturn, which 
is the day of the sun [Sunday], having appeared to his 
apostles and disciples, he taught them these things." 
— First Apology of Justin, Chap. LXVII. 

Many other historical quotations might be given, but 
lack of space forbids. 

PERVERSION OF NEW TESTAMENT 

CEREMONIES. 

Originally, the Lord's day was simply a worship-day. 
The day itself possessed no more holiness than any other 
day ; therefore the true Christians, in full light, esteemed 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 483 

"every day alike" in this respect (Rom. 14:5), though 
assembling together for worship on the first day of the 
week ,as I have shown. Later, however, when the great 
apostasy began, and when men began to lose sight of 
true spiritual things, they began to attach more and more 
importance to external things and attribute to them the 
greatest degree of holiness and veneration. In this man- 
ner the simple worship-day of the Christians became 
idolized as a holy sabbath-day in the place of the Jewish 
sabbath of the old dispensation, and almost every text of 
Scripture pertaining to the Jewish day was perverted 
in its application in order to sustain this extravagant 
idea. This has been done by popes, by priests of various 
churches, and by Protestant divines. But the saints of 
God in this last reformation have learned from the 
Scriptures the truth concerning this subject, and we 
cling to the simple apostolic standard. Sunday is our 
day of special worship, because it was theirs; but true 
holiness itself pertains to men, and we must be holy every 
day. 

The present sectarian conception of holiness, which 
centers in sabbath (Sunday) keeping, churches (houses 
of worship), and other external things, is the offspring 
of the apostasy. And when uncounted thousands, even 
millions, of professing Christians live in open sin, pleas- 
ure, and revelry all the six days of the week, and then on 
the first day walk was careful, solemn tread into their 
so-called "holy" churches and perform their "holy" 
service on this "holy sabbath-day," it is time for God's 
true saints to cry out that such things are an abomination 
in the sight of a God who is truly HOLY. 



484 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

But shall we change our wosrhip from the example 
set by the apostles, simply because of these extremes 
concerning Sunday-keeping and Sunday-holiness ? Never ! 
The same great apostasy has perverted other institutions 
of the gospel as well. The Catholic priest takes the 
bread and wine and (as they say) converts it into the 
actual body and blood of the Lord, and falls down and 
worships it. Some Protestants also have adopted nearly 
the same belief and practise. 

If people desire to worship the bread in the sacrament 
or worship Sunday as a sacred sabbath-day, they may 
do so on their own responsibility. As for us, we will 
take the same things and use them in the Bible way, 
because they are useful and necessary. The bread and 
the wine in the communion do not differ in their nature 
from other elements of the same kind; they are merely 
put to a different use. So also the Lord's day is the same 
to us as are all other days, except in this, that, following 
the apostolic examples, we put it to a different use. 
Morally there is no difference. No New Testament 
ordinance or ceremony is termed "holy" in the Bible — 
not in one single text. New Testament holiness is "true 
holiness'* (Eph. 4: 24) and pertains not to things, but to 
redeemed men and women. 

"Brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use 
not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love 
serve one another" (Gal. 5:13). The freedom from 
legal bondage that we experience must not be allowed to 
cause us to take extreme positions that will rob us of the 
true spirit of worship and devotion on the first day of 
the week, and that, will also trample on the religious con- 



THE LAW OF HOLINESS. 485 

victions of many who do not have so great a degree of 
light and personal freedom. We must learn well and 
practise the lesson of Rom. 14: 1-6, so that, though we 
"esteem every day alike," we can patiently bear with, 
and "despise not," the one who is so "weak in the faith" 
that he "esteemeth one day above another." Paul set 
a good example: "Unto the Jews I became as a Jew, 
that I might gain the Jews." This he did for the sake of 
his influence, and for the sake of the cause of Christ. 
May the Spirit of God so direct us in our conduct on 
this day of worship that the precious cause of God will 
never, through our indiscretion, suffer reproach. Amen. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

The subject of the kingdom of God has been greatly 
misunderstood by many people. Visionists have dreamed 
of a coming age of blessedness and earthly glory, while 
writers have expressed it in loftiest phrase and through 
highly colored word-pictures, the creations of their own 
fancy. My purpose, however, is not to set forth a mere 
theory, no matter how desirable or captivating it may 
appear, but is to show what the Bible clearly teaches 
concerning the subject, when all forced and fanciful 
interpretations are omitted. 

THE KINGDOM IN PROPHECY. 

During the Babylonish captivity of the Israelites, King 
Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that directly concerns the 
subject of the divine kingdom. As the dream passed from 
the mind of the king, Daniel the prophet was called to 
make known both the dream and its interpretation. This 
was a most unreasonable demand, viewed from the 
human standpoint; yet this circumstance and its results 
prove to us that the dream was of God. Daniel and his 
friends prayed earnestly, after which the dream was 
revealed to the prophet, who thus related it to the king: 
"Thou, O King, sawest, and behold a great image. This 
great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before 
thee; and the form thereof was terrible. This image's 
head was of fine gold, his breast and his arms of silver, 
his belly and his thighs of brass, his legs of iron, his 



488 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

feet part of iron and part of clay. Thou sawest till that 
a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image 
upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and break them 
to pieces. Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the 
silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became 
like the chaff of the summer threshing-floors; and the 
wind carried them away, that no place was found for 
them: and the stone that smote the image became a great 
mountain, and filled the whole earth" (Dan. 2:31-35). 

Having made known the dream itself, the prophet 
then proceeded to show its meaning. "This is the dream; 
and we will tell the interpretation thereof before the 
king. Thou, O king, art a king of kings: for the God of 
heaven hath given thee a kingdom, power, and strength, 
and glory. And wheresoever the children of men dwell, 
the beasts of the field and the fowls of the heaven hath 
he given into thine hand, and hath made thee ruler over 
them all. Thou art this head of gold" (verses 36-38). 

So the head of gold represented the Babylonian Em- 
pire. Though the prophet addressed the king as this 
head, yet it is evident that the real signification is the 
empire itself; for, as we shall see, each of the remaining 
divisions of this image is treated, not as an individual 
king, but as a universal empire. At this time the Baby- 
lonian kingdom was in the height of its power and glory 
under Nebuchadnezzar. The city of Babylon was the 
glory of the East. Its palaces and temples were mag- 
nificent; its walls, laid in a square, measured, according 
to Herodotus, fifteen miles on each side, and rose to the 
astonishing height of 340 feet and were 85 feet thick. 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 489 

These with the hanging-gardens were reckoned among 
the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. 

"And after thee shall arise another kingdom inferior 
to thee" (verse 39). This signifies the Medo-Persian 
Empire, which conquered Babylon about 538 B. C. and 
became the second universal empire. "Thy kingdom is 
divided, and given to the Medes and Persians." "In 
that night was Belshazzar the king of the Chaldeans 
slain. And Darius the Median took the kingdom" (Dan. 
5:28, 30, 31). 

"And another third kingdom of brass, which shall bear 
rule over all the earth" (verse 39). This signifies the 
Greecian Empire which, under Alexander the Great, con- 
quered the Persian Empire, and became the ruling em- 
pire of the then-known world. 

"And the fourth kingdom shall be strong as iron: for- 
asmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all 
things : and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break 
in pieces and bruise. And whereas thou sawest the feet 
and toes, part of potter's clay, and part of iron, the 
kingdom shall be divided; but there shall be in it of the 
strength of the iron, forasmuch as thou sawest the iron 
mixed with miry clay. And as the toes of the feet were 
part of iron and part of clay, so the kingdom shall be 
partly strong, and partly broken. And whereas thou 
sawest iron mixed with miry clay, they shall mingle 
themselves with the seed of men : but they shall not cleave 
one to another, even as iron is not mixed with clay" 
(verses 40-43). This signifies the Roman Empire, which 
conquered the Greeks and established itself as the ruling 
power of the world. This description of Rome includes 



490 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

both her strong and divided condition, but it is all 
summed up under the one head — "fourth kingdom." 

Observe carefully that only four kingdoms are men- 
tioned in this prophecy: 1. "The God of heaven hath 

given thee a kingdom Thou art this head of gold" — 

Babylonian Empire (verses 37, 38). 2. "After thee 
shall arise another kingdom" — Medo-Persian (verse 39). 

3. "And another third kingdom" — Grecian (verse 39). 

4. "And the fourtli kingdom" — Roman Empire (verse 
40). 

"And in the days of these kings shall the God of 
heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: 
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it 
shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, 
and it shall stand forever. Forasmuch as thou sawest 
that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, 
and that it break in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, 
the silver and the gold ; the great God hath made known 
to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the 
dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure" 
(verses 44, 45). 

According to this prophecy, the stone which was "cut 
out without hands" represents the divine kingdom of God 
as the fifth universal kingdom; and since it smote the 
fourth division of the image we must therefore look to 
the time of the reign of the Roman Empire for the estab- 
lishment of the kingdom of God. 

ESTABLISHED BY CHRIST. 

The prophet Isaiah also clearly predicts the establish- 
ment of this kingdom of God, and he also informs us by 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 491 

whom it is to be established, and when. "For unto us 
a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the govern- 
ment shall be upon his shoulders: and his name shall 
be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The 
everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the in- 
crease of his government and peace there shall be no end, 
upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to 
order it, and to establish it with judgment and with 
justice from henceforth even forever" (Isa. 9:6, 7). 

Now, when this "child is born," when this "son is 
given," the one who is The mighty God, The Prince of 
Peace, he will establish "his kingdom" "with judgment 
and with justice," and "of the increase of his govern- 
ment and peace there shall be no end." Every Bible 
student knows that this refers to Christ. However, let 
us seal it with the Word. The angel Gabriel said to 
Mary, the virgin of Nazareth: "Thou shalt conceive in 
thy womb, and bring forth a son, and thou shalt call 
his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called 
the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give 
unto him the throne of his father David; and he shall 
reign over the house of Jacob forever; and of HIS 
KINGDOM there shall be no end" (Luke 1:31-33). 

Some people are looking for the kingdom of God to 
come in some future age, but these scriptures clearly 
locate its coming at the first advent of Christ. It was 
when he was born into the world as a "son" that he be- 
came a king and established his kingdom. He himself 
taught this during his ministry. When on trial before 
Pilate, he acknowledged that he had a kingdom, but said, 
"My kingdom is not of this world." And when Pilate 



492 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

asked, "Art thou a king then?" "Jesus answered, Thou 
say est that I am a king. To this end was I born, and 
for this cause came I into the world" (John 18: 36, 37). 
We must therefore look to his first coming as the time 
for the establishment of the kingdom. "Now after that 
John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preach- 
ing the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, THE 
TIME IS FULFILLED, and the kingdom of God is at 
hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:14, 
15). 

This is in exact accordance with the prophecy of 
Daniel already given. The "stone" smote the fourth, or 
Roman, division of the image. So also it was in the 
days of the Roman Empire that the Christ-child ap- 
peared. When this humble babe was boro in the city 
of Bethlehem, Rome was in the height of her glory, and 
Augustus Caesar, her proud monarch, ruled over 300, 
000,000 people. But the kingdom Christ was to es- 
tablish was destined to overthrow all the kingdoms of 
pagan darkness and to stand forever. 

This kingdom of God on earth was represented by the 
church of God, and it soon came into conflict with all the 
vile powers of heathenism enthroned in the Roman Em- 
pire. This we have seen and described in chapter XVI. 
That the application is correct is shown by the twelfth 
chapter of Revelation. Here the woman, representing the 
early church, is opposed by the "great dragon, having 
seven heads, and ten horns" (verse 3). This great 
dragon, which is easily identified by its heads and horns, 
symbolizes the Roman Empire under its pagan form. 
Then appears the warfare of Christ and his angels 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 493 

against this dragon (verse 7), by which is shown the 
early conflict of Christianity with paganism; and the 
result is given: "And the great dragon was cast out" 
(verse 9). Christianity triumphed over heathenism. 
Listen! "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 
NOW is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom 
of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the ac- 
cuser of our brethren is cast down And they 

overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the 
word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives 
unto the death" (verses 10, 11). How clearly this ful- 
fils the prediction of Daniel 2 concerning the stone that 
smote the image! 

Notice how plainly the time of its accomplishment is 
given. It was after the death of Christ, for 4 it was by 
the "blood of the Lamb" that the victory was gained. 
It was before the papal age, because after this victory 
the woman "fled into the wilderness" for the period of 
1260 years, during which time the beast ruled (verse 14 
and chap. 13:1-8). In the vision of Daniel the stone 
was cut out before it smote the image; so also Christ 
appeared and established his gospel a little before its 
conflict with heathenism. 

The time of the establishment of Christ's kingdom is 
also shown in Daniel 2 by another means. The burden 
of Nebuchadnezzar's dream was to set forth the truth 
concerning the kingdom of God. All the rest is compara- 
tively unimportant, only preliminary to the great climax 
when the stone smites the image, breaking it, and itself 
becomes a great mountain and fills the whole earth. 
The prophet said "There is a God in heaven that re- 



494 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

vealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchad- 
nezzar what shall be in the latter days" (verse 28). 
The expression "in the latter days/' as used by Old 
Testament writers, is interpreted by the apostL 
applying to their time. Thus, Peter says, "This is that 
which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall 
come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pom 
out of my Spirit upon all flesh" (Acts 2: 16, 17). The 
writer of Hebrews says, "God, who at sundry times and 
in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers 
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us 
by his Son" (Heb. 1:1,8). 

The message of the kingdom of God was introduced 
by John. "In those days came John the Baptist, preach- 
ing in the wilderness of Judea, and saying, Repent ye: 
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 3: 1, 2). 
And Jesus bore witness to this work of John by saying, 
"The law and the prophets were until John: since that 
time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man 
presseth into it" (Luke 16: 16). Then the same mes- 
sage was taken up by Christ, who preached "the gospel 
of the kingdom of God, and saying, the time is fulfilled, 
and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and 
believe the gospel" (Mark 1:14, 15). 

Many teachers who have accepted the theory of a 
coming earthly kingdom find it difficult indeed to evade 
the force of all these scriptures that so clearly point 
to the first advent of Christ as the time of the establish- 
ment of his kingdom. In order to accomplish their end 
and save their theory from utter destruction, some of 
them try to make a distinction between the kingdom of 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 495 

heaven and the kingdom of God, saying that one was 
given when Christ appeared the first time, but that the 
other is reserved for his second coming. Now, the ob- 
ject of this book is not to combat every theory of men, 
but to show what the Bible teaches. This I shall do 
in this case by showing that the New Testament makes 
no such distinction between the kingdom of heaven and 
the kingdom of God, but applies both expressions to the 
same thing,. 

1. John preached, "The kingdom of heaven is at 
hand" (Matt. 3:1, 2). "The law and the prophets 
were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is 
preached" (Luke 16:16). 

2. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the 
kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 5:3). "Blessed be ye poor: 
for yours is the kingdom of God" (Luke 6: 20). 

3. Concerning John. "He that is least in the king- 
dom of heaven is greater than he" (Matt. 11 : 11). "He 
that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he" 
(Luke 7:28). 

4. "It is given unto you to know the mysteries of 
the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 13: 11). "Unto you it 
is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God" 
(Mark 4: 11). 

5. "The kingdom of heaven is like to. a grain of 
mustard-seed" (Matt. 13:31). "Whereunto shall I 
liken the kingdom of God? .... It is like a grain of 
mustard-seed" (Mark 4: 30, 31). 

6. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which 
a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal" (Matt. 
13: 33). "Whereunto shall I liken the kingdom of God? 



496 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

It is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three 
measures of meal" (Luke 13: 20, 21). 

The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are 
the same thing. 

NATURE OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM. 

Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world" (John 
18: 36). Earthly kingdoms are of one nature; the king- 
dom of God is another. Now, we can determine the na- 
ture of God's kingdom on earth by what the Scrip- 
tures have to say about it. 

1. It is a doctrine. "Go thou and preach the kingdom 
of God" (Luke 9:60). "The kingdom of God is 
preached, and every man presseth into it" (Luke 16: 
16). The entire message of the gospel is "preaching 
the things concerning the kingdom of God" (Acts 8: 12). 
In some manner the kingdom of God is so contained in 
and expressed by the gospel that the preaching of that 
gospel is called the preaching of the kingdom of God. 

2. It is an experience. This is indicated by the fact 
that we are commanded to seek for it. "But seek ye 
first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness" (Matt. 
6:33). "The kingdom of God is preached, and every 
man presseth into it" (Luke 16: 16). This shows that 
it is an experience to be obtained by earnest effort. It 
is therefore spiritual in its nature. "And when he was 
demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God 
should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom 
of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they 
say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of 
God is within you" (Luke 17:20, 21). What a clear 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 497 

contrast between the nature of Christ's kingdom and 
that of earthly kingdoms ! Earthly kingdoms are intro- 
duced with great external pomp and display; but Jesus 
says, "My kingdom is not of this world." It is not 
"here" or "there/' for it is not localized in any partic- 
ular geographical locality, but is spiritual in its nature 
and "within you/' that is, if you have earnestly sought 
it acording to Christ's command and "pressed into it." 

"The kingdom of God is within you 

So the greatest of teachers hath said; 

And the faithful and loving have found it, 

And enjoyed it before they were dead." 

3. It is the present inheritance of the saints. In the 
very first century of Christian grace John testified that 
he was "in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ" 
(Rev. 1:9). Paul instructs the Colossians to give thanks 
unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be par- 
takers of the inheritance of the saints in light: who hath 
delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath 
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Col. 
1:12, 13). Yea, "the kingdom of God is preached, 
and every man presseth into it" (Luke 16:16). "For 
the kingdom of God is not meat and drink ; but righteous- 
ness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost" (Rom. 
14:17). 

"There's a theme that is sweet to my mem'ry, 
There's a joy that I can not declare, 
There's a treasure that gladdens my being; 
'Tis the kingdom of righteousness here. 

"There's a scene of its grandness before me, 
Of its greatness there can be no end; 
It is joy, it is peace, it is glory; 

In my heart, how these riches do blend! 



498 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

1 ' 'Tis a kingdom of peace, it is reigning within, 
It shall ever increase in my soul; 
We possess it right here when he saves from all sin, 
And 'twill last while the ages shall roll. ,, 

4. It is a visible working- force. "I tell you of a truth, 
there be some standing here, which shall not taste of 
death, till they see the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:27). 
"Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them 
that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they 
have seen the kingdom of God come with power" (Mark 
9:1). It is evident that another phase of the kingdom 
is here set forth; for as a doctrine it had already been 
preached; as an experience, some had already sought 
it and pressed into it. But here is a distinct, visible 
phase that was to be manifested during the lifetime of 
some who were then present and heard the words of 
Christ. This phase of the kingdom is identical with 
the church of God as a visible, working-force in the 
world; and as, on the day of Pentecost, the church was 
fully organized and set in order, and dedicated by a 
most wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they in- 
deed saw the kingdom of God come with power (see 
Luke 24:49). 

A REIGN ON THE EARTH.* 
In this organic form the kingdom of God shone forth 
gloriously in the morning of this dispensation. In the 
visions of the Apocalypse, John saw this blessed trium- 
phal reign of the saints on earth; for at the very open- 

*The subject cf the kingdom of God, as set forth in the 
remainder of this chapter, is well illustrated in the large 
diagram entitled "The Church in Prophecy and History," 
which is inserted at the beginning of Chapter XVI. This 
should be consulted by the reader. 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 499 

ing of the plan of redemption by Christ, the blood- 
washed took up the new song of redemption, saying, 
"Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals 
thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to 
God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and 
people, and nation; and hast made us unto our God 
kings and priests, and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev. 
5: 9, 10). This does not refer to some future reign on 
the earth, but describes the reign of righteousness en- 
joyed by the people of God at the very beginning of 
the gospel dispensation. They were already kings and 
priests unto God. Peter describes them thus: "Ye are 
a chosen generation, a royal priesthood [kingly priest- 
hood; that is, a priesthood of kings], a holy nation, a 
peculiar people; that ye should show forth the praises 
of him who hath called you out of darkness into his 
marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9). And Paul declares that 
"they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift 
of righteousness shall reign in life by one Jesus Christ" 
(Rom. 5:17). This "reign on the earth" was a real, 
public one, coexistent and coextensive with the triumph 
of the apostolic church itself. It was when the church 
conquered paganism that the cry went up, "Now is 
come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our 
God, and the power of his Christ" (Rev. 12:10). 

A REIGN WITH CHRIST. 

But this phase of the kingdom, which is identical with 
the visible church in its organic form, was not to con- 
tinue thus. In order to understand the teaching of the 
Word concerning the kingdom subsequent to its estab- 



500 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

lishment, we must understand the teaching concerning 
the church subsequent to its establishment. In Chapter 
XVI we showed, from Revelation 12, that the church is 
set forth under a double symbol — a woman and her son — 
in order to show two phases of her existence during the 
apostasy. The phase represented by the man-child who 
was "caught up unto God and to his throne" is that 
phase of the church which was cut off from the earth 
through martyrdom and persecution; while the phase 
represented by the woman who "fled into the wilderness" 
is that phase of the church which continued on earth, but 
was hidden in the great apostasy. With these thoughts 
in mind we will approach the twentieth chapter of 
Revelation. 

The reader should observe that the prophecies of the 
Revelation are laid out in parallel series covering the 
gospel dispensation; that one theme is taken up and car- 
ried through until the end, and then the narrative re- 
turns to take up another theme, or a different phase of 
the same thing, covering the same ground, and termina- 
ting at the same point. Now, the last verses of Rev- 
elation 19 ends one series of prophecy, showing the over- 
throw of certain evil powers in the lake of fire. Then 
chapter 20 begins a new series of prophecy covering the 
gospel dispensation likewise, and ending at the same 
point — the lake of fire (verse 15). Observe this care- 
fully — that the leading events of this chapter take place 
before the second coming of Christ and the judgment- 
scene, and not afterwards (verses 11, 12). In other 
words, these leading events do not follow the second 
coming and judgment described in chapter 19, but pre- 



1 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 501 

cede it; being themselves followed by the second coming 
and general judgment. 

"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having 
the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his 
hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, 
which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand 
years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut 
him up, and set a seal upon him that he should deceive 
the nations no more, until the thousand years should be 
fulfilled : and after that he must be loosed a little season" 
(Rev. 20: 1-2). 

Many people who read this scripture just conclude 
without investigation or reason that the angel represents 
Christ and that this is his second coming. But, as I have 
just shown, all this series of prophecy takes place be- 
fore his second coming and the general resurrection and 
judgment. Furthermore, in the Revelation an angel 
is never used to represent Christ, for he who claims 
equality with God can not be symbolized by a created 
intelligence. Whenever Christ appears on the symbolic 
scene, as in chapter 19, he appears in his own character, 
unrepresented by another. "And he hath on his vesture 
and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, 
AND LORD OF LORDS" (chap. 19:16). 

The description of this overthrow of the dragon by 
a mighty angel is exactly parallel chronologically with 
the overthrow of the dragon by primitive Christianity, 
described in chapter 12. There is only one dragon 
mentioned in the Revelation. In chapter 12, where he 
first appears, he is described as a great red dragon; 
but in every subsequent place where he is referred to 



502 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

he is mentioned as the dragon, showing that it is the 
same dragon. In chapter 12 the dragon that was "cast 
out" was termed "that old serpent, called the devil, and 
Satan, which deceiveth the whole world" (verse 9). So 
also in chapter 20 he is described as "that old serpent, 
which is the devil, and Satan," and he was "cast into 
the bottomless pit," that he should "deceive the nations 
no more." Any one can see by comparison that we have 
here two parallel series, covering in some respects two 
separate phases of thought, and yet each sustaining and 
explaining the other. 

In chapter 12, after the first triumphs of Christianity 
a great change takes place. The phase of the church, 
or kingdom, represented by the man-child is, through 
persecution and martyrdom, "caught up unto God and 
to his throne," while the woman flees into obscurity for 
1260 years. The beast takes the place of the dragon and 
destroys God's saints (chap. 13: 1-8), and is in turn 
succeeded by "another beast," which makes an image to 
the first one (chap. 13: 11-14). 

Here in chapter 20 nothing is said about the woman 
in the wilderness, but the narrative takes up the other 
phase (the man-child), which was caught up unto God, 
and there lived and reigned. "And I saw thrones, and 
they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: 
and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the 
witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which 
have not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither 
had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their 
hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thou- 
sand years" (verse 4). Notice carefully the facts: 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 508 

1. It was the "souls of them that were beheaded for the 
witness of Jesus" that "reigned with Christ." 

2. Not one word is said about people's being literally 
resurrected and reigning. This reign was before the 
resurrection of the literal dead, for the resurrection of 
these does not take place until after the one thousand 
years, at the end of this series of prophecy, and includes 
both classes, good and bad; for some are found written 
in the book of life, while some are not (verses 11-15). 

3. There is no reign on the earth mentioned here at 
all; the reign was "with Christ." How well this agrees 
with Paul's statement, "I am in a straight betwixt two, 
having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which 
is far better: nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more 
needful for you" (Phil. 1 : 23, 24) ! 

But let us notice some positive proofs that these in- 
dividuals were not literally resurrected and were not 
reigning on the earth at all. John saw them at another 
time, and describes them thus: "And when he had opened 
the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them 
that were slain for the word of God, and for the 
testimony which they held: and they cried with a loud 
voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost 
thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell 
on the earth? And white robes were given unto every 
one of them; and it was said unto them that they should 
rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants 
also and their brethren^ that should be killed as they were 
should be fulfilled" (Rev. 6: 9-11). Here again we have 
the same persons symbolized by the man-child of chapter 
12. They were souls in a disembodied state. They were 



504 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

not on the earth, but they were in a state of "rest" "with 
Christ." 

These scriptures, considered together, blend in one 
harmonious whole. First the church reigns publicly on 
the earth, but this phase is cut off by the apostasy on 
the one hand and by the persecutions of the beast on the 
other; and, being thus interrupted on the earth, the 
scene suddenly changes to the realm of paradise, and we 
see that the souls of the martyrs are reigning there. 
They "rest" while they "reign with ( 'hrist," and they 
"wait" for the end of that earthly reign of tyranny and 
usurpation in which their "fellow servants also and their 
brethren" are being killed as they \v< r< . 

The special time, then, during which this reign above 
is brought to our view is that period during which God's 
people on earth were martyred tor the testimony of Je- 
sus. At the end of ties period, as we shall presently 
show, tin scene is again Laid upon earth and the triumph 
of the church and spiritual reign of the kingdom is 
again manifested. But as the public reign of the apos- 
tolic church ceased gradually, and as its restoration in 
the last days also takes place gradually, no exact 
dates for this phase of the subject can be given; there- 
for the indefinite period of time that (lapsed between 
the two is simply stated by the term "a thousand years." 
This is not literally 1,000 years, for that would be less 
than the reign of the papacy, which was 1260 years; 
while the period under consideration not only covers that 
period, but also extends into the Protestant era; for 
Protestantism, as we have shown, also martyred some of 
God's witnesses during its earlier days. Furthermore, 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 505 

all the time-periods mentioned in the Revelation are 
symbolic, not literal. If a literal period of 1,000 years 
had been intended, the prediction would probably have 
said "a thousand days"; just as the 1260 years are sym- 
bolized by "a thousand two hundred and three score 



THE FIRST RESURRECTION. 

"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the 
thousand years were finished. This is the first resur- 
rection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the 
first resurrection: on such the second death hath no 
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, 
and shall reign with him a thousand years" (Rev. 20: 
5,6). 

Here we have a resurrection to life that is called the 
"first resurrection"; but notice that in verse 5 this first 
resurrection takes place after the one thousand years: 
"But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thou- 
sand years were finished. THIS is the first resurrec- 
tion." How utterly fatal this is to that millennial heresy 
which teaches that the first resurrection is the literal 
resurrection of saints at Christ's coming and that they 
afterwards reign with him a thousand years ! But verse 
6 teaches also that those who reigned with Christ dur- 
ing the thousand years mentioned had taken part in the 
first resurrection. This shows positively that the first 
resurrection is of such a nature as to include people both 
before and after the period of one thousand years. But 
I have already shown from the Scriptures that those who 
reigned with Christ during this thousand years were dis- 
embodied souls; still, they had had part in this "first 



506 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

resurrection." Here also we have definite proof that the 
"first resurrection" is not a literal one. It is both before 
and after the one thousand years, and still is all before 
the literal resurrection at Christ's second coming, when 
"the dead small and great stand before God" (verse 12). 
In the following chapter I shall show by many texts that 
are not involved in prophetic interpretations that there 
is but one literal resurrection of the dead, and that both 
the righteous and the wicked will be raised at the same 
time. What, then, is the "first resurrection"? 

According to verse 6, the first resurrection makes men 
"blessed and holy-" According to the Scriptures, men 
must receive a spiritual resurrection, or quickening, be- 
fore they can be made holy; for they arc represented as 
"dead in trespasses and in sins" (Eph. 2:1). "And you 
being dead in your sins .... hath he quickened together 
with him, having forgiven you all trespasses" (Col. 2: 
13). That the act of salvation, which makes us alive in 
Christ, is Scripturally "the first resurrection" is proved 
most positively by the words of Christ himself: "Verily, 
verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, 
when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: 
and they that hear shall live" (John 5:25, 24). "WE 
KNOW that we have passed from death unto life" (1 
John 3:14). It was this spiritual resurrection that 
made the martyrs blessed and holy, and fitted them to 
"reign with Christ" in a disembodied state in "rest" and 
peace, while waiting for their fellow servants on earth 
to be killed as they were. 

In chapter 20 of the Revelation the people of God 
who have had "part in the first resurrection" are brought 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 507 

to view as two great companies: those before the period 
of the thousand years; and the remainder — symbolized 
by "the rest of the dead/' verse 5 — after the close of 
that period. Such have been the facts in the case. A 
great host of people were saved before the great apos- 
tasy, and another mighty host are now being quickened 
into spiritual life since the period of the apostasy; but 
it is all "the first resurrection," as verses 5 and 6 show. 

"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan 
shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to de- 
ceive the nations which are in the four parts of the earth, 
Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the 
number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they 
went out on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the 
camp of the saints about and the beloved city: and fire 
came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them" 
(Rev. 20:7-9). 

Now, the dragon that Christianity overthrew origi- 
nally was paganism as enthroned in the Roman Empire. 
It was not the civil power itself that the Christians at- 
tacked, but that huge system of false doctrine which 
stood opposed, both in nature and in spirit, to the spirit 
of Christ and Christianity. So in the release of the 
dragon in the last days we must look for some power 
that is antichristian both in nature and in spirit. The 
forms of paganism were many; so also there may be 
divers forms of the same old dragon-power manifested 
now; but the object of all is to oppose the true spiritual 
standard of Jesus Christ. And considering the fact 
that the real truth is now in the world, we may expect 
the opposition to be of the most subtle and deceptive kind. 



508 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

The special efforts of Satan against the truth of the 
Bible can be traced definitely in modern times since the 
period of the French Revolution. Just prior to this time 
the infidel philosophers of France had ridiculed every- 
thing in the basis of Christianity, and when the people 
were persuaded of these things so skilfully presented to 
them, they determined to cast away the religion of Christ 
altogether and revel in their madness. But the opposi- 
tion has not always been in this form. By the most 
subtle methods Satan has sought to undermine faith in 
the Bible and Christianity. The very dregs of paganism 
itself are found in the system of Freemasonry, which is 
spread broadcast everywhere. Such is only a revival of 
the ancient pagan mysteries. And spiritualism is the 
direct work of the devil, a revival of the necromancy and 
magic of ancient heathenism. Christian Science, 
"falsely so-called" (1 Tim. 6:20), is another movement 
of Satan, in which the fantastic idealism of the Gnostics 
is revived. The dragon is loose in many forms and is de- 
ceiving the nations, and all for the purpose of gathering 
them together against the real truth and work of God. 

"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out 
of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the 
beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet. For 
they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which 
go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole 
world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of 
God almighty" (Rev. 16:13, 14). The dragon when 
released in these days is not satisfied to work by himself 
and oppose Christ directly, but he seeks a union with 
the vile spirits of the beast and of the false prophet. 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 509 

May God help every honest soul in Babylon to hear the 
voice of heaven and "come out" (Rev. 18:4). This last 
reformation is now gathering together the saints of God 
into their "beloved city/' the true church; while Satan 
is gathering together all the powers of wickedness and 
deception. 

ANOTHER "REIGN ON THE EARTH." 

It will be seen that in Rev. 20: 8, 9 the subject is not 
the reign of the martyrs in paradise, but that we have 
once more in prominence "the camp of the saints" "ON 
THE EARTH." Here we have the mighty host who 
have had "part in the first resurrection" after the close 
\of the thousand-year period, reigning in triumph and 
victory; while the powers of evil are gathering together 
for the final conflict. The scene is brought to a close by 
the second coming of Christ, the literal resurrection of 
the dead, and the general judgment (verses 10-15). 

The fact that the reign of God's people on earth is 
divided into two distinct periods is shown also by other 
prophecies. In the seventh chapter of Daniel is re- 
corded a vision of four great beasts, symbolizing the 
Babylonian, Medo-Persian, Grecian, and Roman em- 
pires. Verse 18, connected with Dan. 2:31-44 (already 
given in this chapter), shows that the saints were to 
possess the kingdom of God before the overthrow of 
these four kingdoms; which are fulfilled, as we have 
seen, by the establishment of Christianity by Christ 
during the reign of the Roman Empire. Then follows a 
description of the rise of the papacy, which was to "wear 
out the saints of the Most High" for a period of 1260 



510 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

years (verses 19-25). This, as before explained, reaches 
to A. D. 1530. During this period the public reign of 
the saints on earth largely ceased. Then, immediately 
following, it is said, "The judgment shall sit, and they 
shall take away his dominion, to consume and destroy 
it unto the end" (verse 20). This does not refer to the 
final judgment; it is a spiritual judgment that com- 
mences before that time and continues "unto the end." 
During the Protestant era spiritual reformations from 
time to time brought judgment against that beast-power 
which had for ages "worn out the saints of the Most 
High." In these spiritual reformations many people 
were resurrected to spiritual life in Christ. But a little 
later the real spiritual reign of the saints is perfectly 
restored in the pure gospel light of the evening time; 
and now the next verse is fulfilled, which says, "AND 
THE KINGDOM AND DOMINION, AND THE 
GREATNESS OF THE KINGDOM UNDER THE 
WHOLE HEAVEN, SHALL BE GIVEN TO THE 
PEOPLE OF THE SAINTS OF THE MOST HIGH, 
WHOSE KINGDOM IS AN EVERLASTING KING- 
DOM" (verse 27). 

"Fear not little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure 
to give you the kingdom" (Luke 12:32). The little 
stone of Nebuchadnezzar's vision shall yet "become a 
great mountain and FILL THE WHOLE EARTH." 

THE UNIVERSAL KINGDOM. 

Thus far we have considered the subject of the king- 
dom of God chiefly from the standpoint of Christ's 
spiritual work on the earth, either in the hearts of his 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 511 

people, as a spiritual experience, or in his church, as a 
visible organic movement. But there is another dis- 
tinct phase that we must understand in order to harmo- 
nize all the facts. This is the universal phase. Christ 
is now universal King, Lord of heaven and earth. Be- 
fore his ascension he claimed this dominion, saying, "All 
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth" (Matt. 
28: 18). This universal dominion is expressed by Paul 
thus: "Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him 
from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the 
heavenly places, far above all principality and power, 
and might, and dominion^ and every name that is named, 
not only in this world but also in that which is to come: 
and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to 
be head over all things" (Eph. 1:20-22). 

Peter describes Christ's universal reign thus: "Who is 
gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; 
angels and authorities and powers being made subject 
unto him" (1 Pet. 3:22). Christ is now the universal 
King, yea, "King of kings, and Lord of lords." 

"The universe is God's domain, 
He built it all his own; 
Ihough men and devils do, in vain, 
Conspire against his throne. " 

Viewed from this standpoint, the earth as a whole 
"is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world and 
them that dwell therein" (Psa. 24: 1). The whole earth 
and universe is his kingdom; therefore all sinners and 
evil men are in his (universal) kingdom, but they exist 
as rebels against his throne, dominion, and authority. 
At one time all the world was in sin. Justice would have 



512 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

sanctioned the complete destruction of this entire host 
of rebels; but love and mercy sought for expression; 
therefore the pure elements of heaven were again 
brought to earth and planted here, in the form of the 
gospel and the spiritual kingdom of God, the object of 
which is to give all rebels an opportunity to obtain 
mercy by submitting to the divine authority of the great 
king of the universe. But this will not always con- 
tinue. Christ can not long endure in his universal king- 
dom those who rebel against his law; therefore at his 
second coming "the Son of man shall send forth his 
angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all 
things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall 
cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing 
and gnashing of teeth. THEN SHALL THE RIGHT- 
EOUS SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN IN THE 
KINGDOM OF THEIR FATHER" (Matt. 13:41-43). 

This is the grand end of earthly things, when Christ 
will be revealed from heaven at the last day, when the 
wicked will be banished forever from the universe of God's 
dwelling, and our Lord will be "glorified in his saints," 
who will be received into heaven itself (2 Thess. 1 : 7- 
10). Then the present spiritual phase of the earthly 
kingdom will be swallowed up in the great universal 
kingdom, and thus there will be administered to us an 
abundant entrance "into the everlasting kingdom of our 
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1: 11). 

This final change with reference to the earthly phase 
of the kingdom will also be accompanied by a change in 
the relationship of Christ as reigning King over the re- 
deemed of earth. "As in Adam all die, even so in 



THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 513 

Christ shall all be made alive [raised from the dead]. 
But every man in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; 
afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then 
cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the 
kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have 
put down all rule and all authority and power. For he 
must reign, till he hath put all his enemies under his 
feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 
.... And when all things shall be subdued unto him, 
then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that 
put all things under him, that God may be all in all" 
(1 Cor. 15:22-28). Now notice carefully the facts as 
brought forth heretofore and as clearly stated in these 
verses : 

1. Christ is now universal King. 

2. "He must reign" — continue to reign — "till he hath 
put all his enemies under his feet." 

3. "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." 
Now, this destruction will be accomplished by the resur- 
rection. But the entire reign of Christ is to take place 
before this resurrection; for death is "the last enemy" 
that he will conquer. Then "he shall have put down all 
rule and all authority and power." What, then, takes 
place at the time of the resurrection and the destruction 
of the "last enemy?" Answer: "Then THE END." 
The word "cometh" is not in the original. "Then the end 
when he shall have DELIVERED UP THE KING- 
DOM to God, even the Father" (verse 24). The time 
when millennialists expect Christ to come, set up a king- 
dom, and begin to reign is the very time Paul points out 
as the end of Christ's personal redemptive reign, when 



514 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

he "shall have DELIVERED UP THE KINGDOM 
to God, even the Father." 

Our Lord is now the reigning King of earth and 
heaven. At the cross he conquered sin; through his 
church he conquered paganism in the Roman Empire; 
through the Reformation he broke the power of the 
papacy; through his pure church and restored kingdom 
he is now conquering the spiritual powers of darkness; 
and those who do not yield to the persuasive influences 
of his Spirit when manifested lovingly through a moral 
system, he will subdue by force and judgment at his 
coming, at which time "the last enemy" — death — shall 
be destroyed. 

"And when all these things shall be subdued unto him, 
then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him 
that put all things under him, that God may be all in 
all" (verse 28). 



DOCTRINE OF FINAL 
THINGS. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 

After his resurrection from the dead Christ remained 
with his disciples many days, speaking of the things per- 
taining to the kingdom of God; then he led them out on 
the mount Olivet, near Bethany, and here gave them the 
final commission to preach in his name among all the 
nations. "And when he had spoken these things, while 
they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him 
out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly 
toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by 
them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Gali- 
lee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same 
Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven shall so 
come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" 
(Acts 1:9-11). Christ had already informed them of 
his departure, but said to them, "I WILL COME 
AGAIN" (John 14:3). 

In the New Testament much importance is attached 
to the second coming of Christ. The Scriptures uni- 
formly point forward to that event as the time when the 
dead will be raised, when the general judgment will 
take place and final rewards be meted out to the right- 
eous and to the wicked. "The Son of man shall come 
in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he 
shall reward every man according to his works" (Matt. 
16: 27). 2 Thess. 1:7-11 clearly shows that the wicked 
"shall be punished with everlasting destruction," and the 



518 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

saints "glorified/' "when the Lord Jesus shall be re- 
vealed from heaven with his mighty angels." 

It is a popular doctrine in the world that men and 
women receive their final rewards at death; but the 
Bible nowhere teaches this. The texts last quoted, as 
well as scores of others, point forward to the second 
coming as the time when final rewards will be given. 
And since the Scriptures are harmonious on the point 
that our final rewards and punishments are not received 
at death, some teachers go to the opposite extreme and 
teach that when a person dies that is the last there is 
of him until the resurreetion-dav ; that this interval, 
perhaps many thousands of years, is passed in silence 
and unconsciousness. 

THE INTERMEDIATE STATE. 

That this last position is entirely wrong I shall pro- 
ceed to show. In Chapter II of the present work, where 
the nature of man was discussed, abundant evidences 
were brought forth from the Scriptures showing that 
the soul of man survives the death of the body and re- 
mains in a conscious state hereafter. These proofs do 
not require repetition in this place. But I wish to give 
one more thought on that point; namely: 

1. The fact of resurrection itself necessitates the sur- 
vival of the soul after death. After death the body de- 
composes, as we all know, and its elements may enter 
into and help to compose grass, plants, and trees, or the 
bodies of other organic beings or else lie in the dust of 
the earth. Now, if the real man himself, the human 
spirit, does not survive the decomposition of the body, 



SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 519 

how can there be a resurrection of this man? Says one, 
"God can bring together the same bodily elements that 
decompose." True, God can do such a thing; but if 
that is all there is to the subject, would it not be creation 
instead of resurrection? The act whereby man was first 
formed from the dust and given life is called "creation." 
Would not this second act be as truly a creative one as 
the first? To bring into existence something that does 
not exist is to create; therefore if the man himself does 
not really exist between death and the judgment, then 
another creation is necessary. The individual in the 
second creation might be like the first one, but would it 
be the same man? 

Identity of the man himself is not secured through 
sameness of bodily elements. This we can prove in this 
world. Our bodies are constantly changing. Physiol- 
ogy informs us that we have an entirely new, or different, 
body every seven years. But though we possess many 
bodies successively there remains throughout a unity and 
continuity of the essential self. We remember things 
which took place many years ago. We know that we 
are identically the same persons that we were then. This 
proves that identity of self is secured through the spirit, 
and not through physical, bodily elements. 

Again, memory requires the continued existence of 
that which remembers. Carbon, potash, iron, and lime 
remember nothing; therefore though these and other 
identical elements which compose our bodies in this world 
are brought together in the second creation, they can 
bring with them no memory of past events. If they 
could, they would be very apt to trouble us with mem- 



520 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ories of their association with grass., plants, and animals, 
when they formed a part of these organisms. But the 
Bible teaches that the final judgment laid upon the 
resurrected man will be based on "the things done in 
his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be 
good or bad" (2 Cor. 5: 10). Where is his memory of 
past events, and conscience? Bodily elements remember 
nothing. Non-existence remembers nothing. The poor 
man, sentenced to eternal doom, has no idea why he is 
punished. Having no direct connection with a former 
existence, he remembers nothing; therefore he can have 
no conscience-pangs. 

No, reader, it is not thus. The real man survives in 
conscious existence, and therefore the same man that 
committed the offense will be punished, or the same man 
that served God upon earth will be eternally rewarded. 

What, then, is the state of man between natural death 
and the resurrection? Peter plainly tells us that God 
hath "reserved the unjust unto the day of judgment to 
be punished" (2 Pet. 2: 0). But where lias God reserved 
the wicked? This question is well answered in the fol- 
lowing quotation from H. M. Riggle's work "Man: His 
Present and Future," Pp. 81-87: 

"Let the Word answer: 'Reserved in everlasting chains 
under darkness unto the judgment of the great day' 
(Jude 0). 'He hath kept in perpetual chains under 
thick darkness for the judgment of the great day.' — Em- 
phatic Diaglott. 'For if God spared not the angels that 
sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them 
unto chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment' 
(2 Pet. 2:4). 'For messengers that sinned God spared 



SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 521 

not, but, consigning them to the lowest Hades, to pits of 
gloom delivered them up, for judgment to be kept' 
— Rotherham. 'Cast them into dungeons.' — Revised 
(note). 'Having cast them to the deepest abyss.' — Inter- 
linear. 'Plunging them into Tartarus, delivering them 
up in chains to be kept in darkness till the judgment.' 
— Sawyer. 'Confirming them in Tartarus.' — Campbell, 
McKnight, Emphatic Diaglott. 

"Whether the word 'messenger' here refers to angelic 
beings or to fallen ministers, the truth remains the same. 
Fallen demons have not yet received their punishment 
(see Matt. 8:29; Rev. 20:10). These, together with 
the spirits of wicked men, are reserved — kept — in 'chains 
of thick darkness' in 'the lowest Hades.' There in 'pits 
of gloom' they await an awful doom, which will fall upon 
them at the judgment. 'Shall burn unto the lowest hell 
[Sheol, Hebrew; lowest Hades, Greek]' (Deut. 32:22). 
'Delivered my soul from the lowest hell [Hades].' The 
name lowest Hades is Tartarus. The original word is 
Tartaroo. Confined in Tartarus, wicked spirits and de- 
mons are reserved unto the day of judgment to be pun- 
ished. 

"No wonder dying skeptics and sinners have uttered 
words in their last breath like the following: 'I am 
taking an awful leap into the dark.' As such are forced 
out from the clay covering into the spirit-world, and 
know of a certainty the fearful doom that awaits them, 
and then view their past life just closed in rebellion 
against the throne of God, the harvest past, the summer 
ended, the flames of a guilty conscience already torment 
them. This is the dark realm into which the rich man 



522 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

passed at death. 'For in hell [Hades] he lift up his 
eyes, being in torment.' It is an actual 'place of torment' 
(Luke 16:23). Lost spirits writhe beneath the pierc- 
ing gaze of Him whose mercy they have slighted. With 
the fires of hell already kindled in their bosom, and a 
fearful 'looking for of judgment/ when they will hear 
the sentence, 'Depart from me into everlasting fire,' 
these guilty souls in Hades are already tormented in an 
awful flame." 

"There are three states of human spirits. The second 
is the state in which human spirits are separated from 
their animal bodies. This commences at death and ter- 
minates with the resurrection of tin body, and is pre- 
cisely what is called 'Hades.' But Hades not only sig- 
nifies a state, but the place of departed spirits. The 
third state of human spirits commences with the reunion 
of the spirit and body at the resurrection and continues 
ever after. Hades is said to be destroyed when the third 
state commences. Its termination is clearly foretold by 
John in these words: 'Death and Hades were cast into 
the lake of fire. This is the second death' (Rev. 20: 14). 

"In anticipation of the termination of Hades, Paul ex- 
claims: 'O death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where 
is thy victory?' (1 Cor. 15:55). The passage from 
which Paul quotes is Hos. 13:14, and reads: 'I will 
ransom them from the power of the grave [Hades], I 
will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy 
plagues; O grave [Hades], I will be thy destruction.' 
The LXX, from which Paul quotes, reads thus: 
'I will deliver them from the power of Hades, and 
will redeem them from death: where is thy penalty, 



SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 525 

O death! O Hades, where is thy sting? O death, 
thy power to separate spirits from their bodies is no 
more! O Hades, thy dominion over disembodied souls 
is destroyed/ 

"The grave (geber) is the receptacle of the body, 
while 'the unseen world [Hades]' is the receptacle of the 
soul. By consulting Jewish historians (Josephus and 
others) it will be seen that this was the doctrine of the 
Jewish people at the time of Christ. Also by consulting 
the united testimony of the early Church Fathers, it 
will be seen that this was their understanding of Scrip- 
ture. When the Hebrews mingled with the Babylonians, 
Greeks, and Romans, they naturally came into their use 
of terms, and adopted them. Thus it was that the terms 
'paradise,' 'Abraham's bosom,' 'Tartarus,' etc., came to be 
commonly used among the Jews when referring to the 
state of the blessed or the wicked after death. 

"In the city of Babylon, where the Hebrews were 
captives seventy years, there was a place of recreation, 
or rest, for King Nebuchadnezzar and his court; a place 
of shady trees and blooming flowers. In this place the 
king and his court retired for rest and recreation from 
the hard toil and responsibilities of their business. It 
was kept under a strong guard of soldiers. That place 
the Chaldees called 'Paradise.' Also the Greeks and 
Romans had their gardens and fields of delight in Hades, 
and Tartarus in the same region. So the Jews, adopting 
these terms, called the abode of the happy separated 
spirits paradise, or Abraham's bosom; and the place and 
abode of wicked spirits and demons they called Tartarus. 



524 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

These terms were thus introduced into the teachings of 
Scripture. 

"Paul speaks of paradise as a heavenly realm (2 Cor. 
12: 2-4). Jesus said to the converted thief, 'Today shalt 
thou be with me in paradise/ meaning the abode of the 
pious. And again, he clearly states that at death Laz- 
arus was carried by the angels 'into Abraham's bosom.' 
There he was comforted. Peter, a Jew, and an apostle 
of Jesus Christ, says that God cast the angels that sinned 
down to Tartarus (2 Pet. 2:4). He clearly teaches 
that demons and wicked persons are here reserved — kept 
in chains of darkness until the judgment, when they will 
receive their full punishment. (2 Pet. 2:4, 9). This is 
the very place, the lowest Hades, into which Jesus de- 
clared the rich man passed at death, and then lifted up 

his eyes in torment But when righteous men die 

they are carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom — 
rest — into the paradise of God." 

THE END. 
Having shown that the souls of men continue in con- 
scious existence during the interval between natural 
death and the resurrection, I will return to the direct 
subject of Christ's second coming and show from the 
Scriptures the events that will take place when he comes. 
This is purely a subject of revelation. Theory and 
speculation amount to nothing with respect to future 
things; for there is no means of proving anything, ex- 
cept by revelation. Therefore the remainder of this 
chapter will deal with direct Scripture texts bearing 
on the subject. 



SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 525 

"And as he sat upon the Mount of Olives, the disci- 
ples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall 
these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy 
coming, and of the end of the world?" (Matt. 24:3). 
The burden of Matthew 24 shows that this question of 
the disciples relates to the actual end of all earthly 
things, and this they associated in their question with the 
second coming. So also in 1 Corinthians 15, where 
Christ's coming and the resurrection are described, we 
read in this connection, "Then the end" (verse 24). 
This great event marks the end of time, the end of man's 
probation, the end of Christ's special redemption reign; 
yea, as Peter says, "the end of all things is at hand" 
(1 Pet. 4:7). 

THE RESURRECTION. 

So also the resurrection will take place at that time. 
"There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the 
just and unjust" (Acts 24: 15). How many resurrec- 
tions? One, "a resurrection of the dead." And this one 
resurrection of the dead is to include both the just and 
the unjust. In the preceding chapter I showed clearly 
that the prophecies which some people suppose refer to 
two literal resurrections teach no such thing. In this 
chapter we shall see that those plain texts which are not 
involved in prophetic interpretations utterly preclude the 
idea of two literal resurrections in the future. In the 
present text it is simply "a resurrection," which includes 
both just and unjust. 

But this text does not state when it will take place. 
In Rev. 1 : 7 we have the time stated: "Behold he cometh 



526 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also 
which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall 
wail because of him." At his coming "every eye shall 
see him." This proves the fact of a general resurrection ; 
and that this resurrection includes the wicked also is 
shown by the statement that even those who "pierced 
him" will see him when he comes. Tin idea of two 
literal resurrections — one of the righteous and the other 
of the wicked — is utterly demolished by this text; for 
when he comes, "every eye" — including the wicked who 
pierced him — shall be awake and see him. 

That the resurrection is one, but includes both classes, 
is shown by the words of Christ himself: "Marvel not 
at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in 
the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; 
they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; 
and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of 
damnation" (John 5: 28, 29). Both classes — good and 
bad — come forth from their graves in the same "hour." 

1 Thess. 4: 16 is sometimes referred to as teaching 
two resurrections — the "dead in Christ shall rise first." 
But it teaches no such thing, as even a hasty examination 
shows. The word "first" does not refer to other dead 
people at all. The text, with the context, simply shows 
that those who are living on the earth when Christ comes 
will not ascend to heaven before those who are dead in 
Christ, but that the dead in Christ shall rise first, and 
that then they will both ascend together. 

So also Phil. 3: 11 — "If by any means I might attain 
unto the resurrection of the dead" — is sometimes per- 
verted in order to sustain the false doctrine of two future 



SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 527 

literal resurrections of the dead; for, it is argued, if 
there were only one unconditional resurrection, Paul 
would not have sought to attain it. But the Bible repre- 
sents the single resurrection of the dead as composed of 
two classes, the one receiving the resurrection unto eter- 
nal life, and the other a resurrection unto eternal dam- 
nation. The object and effort of Paul was to attain to 
this resurrection of life, which can be obtained only by 
proper effort; for it applies only to those who are the 
saved of earth. The context shows this application. In 
verse 19 he mentions one class "whose end is destruc- 
tion"; while in the two following verses he speaks of 
the other class, to which he belonged, and says, "We 
look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall 
change our vile body that it may be fashioned like unto 
his glorious body." 

When Lazarus was dead, Jesus said to Martha, "Thy 
brother shall rise again. Martha said unto him, I know 
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last 
day" (John 11 : 23, 24). Now, Lazarus was a good man, 
and his sister had the idea that his resurrection would 
take place at the last day. Does this accord with the 
idea of two literal resurrections? No. The millennial 
idea of two resurrections places the resurrection of the 
righteous first and the resurrection of the wicked last — 
one thousand years later. But Martha says, "I know 
that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last 
day." 

Where did Martha get this idea that the righteous 
would be raised at the last day? Evidently from the 
words of Christ himself; for he affirms this four times in 



528 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

one chapter. "And this is the Father's will which hath 
sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose 
nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day" 
(John 6:39). "Every one which seeth the Son, and 
believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will 
raise him up at the last day" (verse 40). "No man can 
come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw 
him: and I will raise him up at the last day" (verse 44). 
"Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath 
eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day" 
(verse 54). 

These scriptures were presented to a certain woman 
that believed the millennial heresy, and she, anxious to 
save her false doctrine that the wicked are the ones who 
will be raised at the last day, while the righteous will 
be raised one thousand years before — she began to af- 
firm that she could prove there would be two and one- 
half days after "the last day." What ridiculous ex- 
tremes people are driven to in order to defend a false 
theory ! There will be but one literal resurrection of the 
dead, and it will include "all that are in their graves" — 
"both the just and unjust" — and together they will come 
forth in the same "hour," when Christ comes; for then 
"every eye shall see him, and them also that pierced him; 
and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him" 
(Rev. 1:7). 

THE GENERAL JUDGMENT. 
To the Athenians, Paul declared that God "hath 
appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world 
in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained" 



SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 529 

(Acts 17:31). This judgment-day is "the last day/' 
the day of resurrection; for Paul says that "the Lord 
Jesus Christ .... shall judge the quick and the dead 
at his appearing' 3 (2 Tim. 4:1). The Revelator con- 
nects the general judgment with the resurrection at the 
second coming: "And I saw a great white throne, and him 
that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven 
fled away, and there was found no place for them. And 
I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and 
the books were opened: and another book was opened, 
which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out 
of those things which were written in the books according 
to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which 
were in it ; and death and hell delivered up the dead which 
were in them: and they were judged every man accord- 
ing to their works" (Rev. 20: 11-13). 

FINAL REWARDS. 

The doctrine of final rewards is naturally associated 
with the second coming and general judgment. "Behold, 
I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every 
man according as his work shall be" (Rev. 22:12). 
"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father 
with his angels; and then shall he reward every man ac- 
cording to his works" (Matt. 16: 27). 

This will be the day of final rewards for all men. 
God hath "reserved the unjust unto the day of judgment 
to be punished" (2 Pet. 2:9). This will be an awful 
day, and one that we can not escape. "Every eye shall 
see him" when he comes; for "the Lord Jesus shall be 
revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming 



530 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and 
that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ; who 
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the 
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; 
when he shall come to be glorified in his saints" (2 Thess. 
1:7-10). The same day that he is "glorified in his 
saints" will be the day of the everlasting banishment of 
the wicked. 

The same great truth is also taught in Matthew 25 
and centers in the second coming. "When the Son of 
man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with 
him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and 
before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall 
separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth 
his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on 
his right hand, but the goats on the left" (Matt. 25: 31- 
33). Here we have all men before the judgment-throne 
at the same time; they are divided into two classes, 
represented by sheep and goats. This division is made 
for the purpose of settling their final destiny. "Then 
shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, 
ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared 
for you from the foundation of the world" (verse 34). 
Final reward. "Then shall he say also to them on the 
left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting 
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" (verse 41). 
Final punishment. And here we have the final destiny 
of both: "And these shall go into everlasting punish- 
ment: but the righteous unto life eternal" (verse 46). 



SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 531 

DESTRUCTION OF THE EARTH. 

The Word of God clearly teaches that the world which 
we now inhabit will be destroyed, pass away, and be 
no more. "Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the 
earth: and the heavens [aerial and planetary] are the 
work of thy hands. They shall perish, .... yea, all 
of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt 
thou change them, and they shall be changed" (Psa. 
102: 25, 26). 

"Heaven and earth shall pass away," says Jesus (Matt. 
24: 35). Peter describes the manner in which the heav- 
ens and earth shall pass away. "The heavens" doubt- 
less refers to the aerial heavens surrounding the earth. 
"But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the 
same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against 
the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men" 
(2 Pet. 3:7). 

Notice that this destruction of the earth by fire is 
reserved till " the day of judgment and perdition of un- 
godly men." Millennialists have argued that the fire would 
come first and simply purify the earth, after which the 
righteous would reign here for a thousand years before 
the resurrection of the wicked. But, according to Peter, 
the fire will not come until the time when the ungodly 
men shall receive their doom. Peter did not believe 
the millennial heresy. He knew that when Christ came 
the end of all things pertaining to earth would take place 
and that the righteous and the wicked would be rewarded 
at the same time. Therefore he goes on to say: "But 
the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; 
in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great 



532 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, 
the earth also and the works that are therein shall be 
burned up. Seeing then that all these things shall be 
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all 
holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting 
unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens 
being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall 
melt with fervent heat?" (verses 10-12). 

Peter does not say that the earth shall be burned over, 
but that it shall be "burned up*'; that "all these things" 
shall "melt," be "dissolved," and "pass away." And 
in direct contrast he mentions in the next verse a "new 
heavens and a new earth" brought to view nfter the first 
one has gone. So also the Revelator describes the pass- 
ing of this old earth: "And I saw a great white throne, 
and him that sat on it, from whose face the enrth and 
the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for 
them" (Rev. 20:11). Then in contrast he says, "And 
I saw a new heaven and a new earth : for the first heaven 
and the first earth were passed away; and there was no 
more sea" (Rev. 21 : 1). This will be heaven, our future 
and eternal home. 

THE MILLENNIAL THEORY. 

With these clear and plain Scriptural statements be- 
fore us, we can readily see that there is no possibility 
of a millennium, or earthly reign of righteousness after 
Christ comes. 

1. There will be NO TIME for a millennium. The 
second coming of Christ, when he raises and rewards 
the righteous, is at "the last day." At that time "the 



SECOND COMING OF CHEIST. 5S3 

mystery of God shall be finished," and "there shall be 
time no longer" (Rev. 10: 6, 7). There is no one thou- 
sand years after the last day. 

2. There will be NO PLACE for a millennium. As 
we have just seen, the destruction of the earth is to take 
place at the same time that the wicked are to be punished ; 
and this destruction will be complete, the earth being 
"dissolved/' "burnt up/' and passing away. Hence 
there will be no earthly place for a millennium after 
Christ comes. 

3. There will be NO NEED of an earthly millennium. 
The offers of perfect salvation are all extended in the 
gospel dispensation. "Behold now is the accepted time; 
behold NOW is the day of salvation" (2 Cor. 6:2). 
Every means consistent with moral government and the 
moral freedom of the individual are now being employed 
to effect the salvation of men. Furthermore, since at the 
coming of Christ the wicked are judged and sent to their 
everlasting doom, there is positively no need of an earthly 
millennium. 

The millenarian doctrine is delusive. It is presented 
in many forms, according to the fancies and desires of 
its propagators, but evidently the idea is about the same 
— that there will be an earthly kingdom and reign of 
Christ for one thousand years. 

This theory was first introduced under Christianity 
by Cerinthus, who was the worst heretic of the first 
century. The church historian Eusebius has preserved 
a fragment of writing from Caius, who lived in the second 
century, and who thus describes the doctrine of Cerin- 
thus: "But Cerinthus too, through revelations written, 



534 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

as he would have us believe, by a great apostle, brings 
before us marvelous things, which he pretends were shown 
him by angels; alleging that after the resurrection the 
kingdom of Christ is to be on earth, and that the flesh 
dwelling in Jerusalem is again to be subject to desires 
and pleasures. And being an enemy to the Scriptures 
of God, wishing to deceive men, he says that there is 
to be a space of a thousand years for marriage-festivi- 
ties." "One of the doctrines that he taught was, that 
Christ would have an earthly kingdom." Caius evidently 
believed the Sriptural doctrine that the kingdom of God 
was set up at Christ's first coming; therefore he brands 
Cerinthus as an "enemy of the Scriptures, wishing to 
deceive men." 

Now, Cerinthus lived in the days of the apostle John. 
Irenaeus, who was born A. D. 120, states that while a 
boy he often sat at the feet of the venerable Polycarp, 
Bishop of Smyrna (who was a disciple of John), and 
listened while that aged disciple related incidents which 
took place in the earlier days of the apostles (Euse- 
bius: Ecclesiastical History, V: 24). Among the things 
thus handed down, Irenaeus states that once while John 
was at Ephesus he entered a public bath to wash, and 
finding that Cerinthus was within, he rushed out of the 
building, exhorting the others to do the same, saying, "Let 
us flee, lest the bath fall in, as long as Cerinthus that 
enemy of the truth, is within." — Eusebius Eccl. Hist., 
111:28. Millennialists, like Cerinthus, claim that their 
doctrine is founded in the Apocalypse of John, but that 
apostle rejected him as an "enemy of the truth." 

Bro. D. S. Warner has stated that the devil works 



SECOND COMING OF CHRIST. 535 

especially to deceive men in either one of two ways; 
either, first, Some other way than Christ; or second, 
Some other time than NOW. This is true. If men will 
not accept his deception that some other way will do, 
then he proceeds at once to delay all important things 
until the future. Thousands of people have thus grasped 
the delusive idea that there will be after this dispensation 
another age of blessedness in which salvation-work will 
be effected. Such is a rank deception of the devil. 
"NOW is the accepted time: behold, NOW is the day of 
salvation." 

E. A. Reardon has suggested that the devil has pro- 
duced a purgatory for Catholics and a millennium for 
Protestants, but all for the same purpose; namely, in 
order to delude the millions into a false hope of future 
opportunities until he can get them across the death- 
line without real Bible salvation, after which, he well 
knows, their destiny will be sealed eternally. 

"O poor sinner, don't believe them; 
There will be no age to come: 
If in life you find not Jesus, 

Death will seal your awful doom." 



CHAPTER XXV. 

DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 

The subject of the final destiny of those who persist 
in a life of wickedness has not been left to the mere 
opinions of men, but is a matter of revelation in the 
Christian Scriptures. Furthermore, the knowledge which 
we possess of the manner of God's dealings with sin- 
ful men in the past would lead us to conclude that at 
some time or other justice would be meted out to the 
guilty violators of his law. 

In the beginning the Creator placed his intelligent 
creatures under moral law, a law that exacts perfect 
obedience. This law had a penalty attached, which was 
determined in accordance with the nature of the offense 
in the mind of its Author. But God, being infinitely 
holy, must of necessity be infinitely opposed to unholi- 
ness; and therefore the law, which reflects his moral 
disposition, must be infinitely just and in the same de- 
gree opposed to injustice. The reward for obedience 
would therefore, in accordance with the nature of the law, 
be infinite; while the penalty for its violation could not 
in the nature of things be other than infinite punishment. 
It is an illogical supposition that the nature, require- 
ments, and rewards of a law system can be of one char- 
acter, and its penalty for disobedience bear no quilita- 
tive relation to it, but be regulated by another standard. 
Infinite punishment must be the penalty for the 
violation of God's universal law, if the moral government 
of heaven, which requires perfect obedience, be infinite 



538 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

and eternal. But every one can see that such justice 
is not dispensed in this world; for we see the wickedest 
of men continuing in health and prosperity right down 
to the hour of their death; while on the other hand, the 
righteous man is ground down and oppressed by poverty, 
affliction, and persecution, and finally passes out of life, 
like Lazarus, without even a public notice of his burial. 
These conditions require a time and place of future 
judgment. 

THEY WILL BE PUNISHED. 

There is now in the world a large amount of perverse 
teaching and sentimental talk against the Bible doctrine 
of the punishment of the wicked. Men have become so 
hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, that they 
imagine that God is altogether such a creature as they 
are — indifferent as to whether men do good or evil. 
When men get so far from the truth that sin does not 
look very bad, and righteousness does not look very good, 
it is time that they should take warning. Hear the word 
of the Lord: "And it shall come to pass at that time that 
I will .... punish the men that are settled on their lees : 
that say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, nei- 
ther will he do evil" (Zeph. 1:12). This is the false 
doctrine spread broadcast today — that if the Lord does 
not do good to the sinner, he will at least not do him 
evil ; therefore men presume on his mercy and go forward 
in their sins, heaping up "wrath against the day of 
wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 
who will render to every man according to his deeds" 
(Rom. 2:5, 6). 

The argument that God is too good to punish men 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 589 

does not alter the matter. God is good, but his good- 
ness is harmonious with his justice; and justice demands 
the execution of law against wrong-doers. "Behold there- 
fore the goodness and severity of God: on them which 
fell, severity ; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue 
in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off" 
(Rom. 11:22). The goodness of God is manifested 
specially toward those "who continue in his goodness." 
"The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble; 
and he knoweth them that trust in him." (Nahum 1:7). 

Every verse of Psalms 136 contains the words "his 
mercy endureth forever"; but an examination shows that 
it is towards his own people that his mercy is everlast- 
ing. The same Psalm shows that while God was mani- 
festing his mercy toward Israel he at the same time 
"smote Egypt," "overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the 
Red Sea," "smote great kings" in the wilderness, etc. 
The love of God therefore demands the eternal separa- 
tion of the wicked from the righteous — not love for the 
wicked, but love for his own people. He even threat- 
ened the wrong-doers in Israel: "I will punish you for 
all your iniquities" (Amos 3:2). And again he says, 
"I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked 
for their iniquity" (Isa. 13: 11). 

Since in time past God has, even in this world, mani- 
fested his judgment against wrong-doers, we may rightly 
infer that he will do so in the future. In fact, if God 
is without "variableness neither shadow of turning" 
(Jas. 1:17), it must be this way in the future. And 
does not the Word of God constantly affirm this fact? 
The Lord has "reserved the unjust unto the day of judg- 



540 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ment to be punished" (2 Pet. 2:9). "Of how much 
sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy 
who hath trodden under foot the Son of God" (Heb. 10: 
29). "Who shall be punished with everlasting destruc- 
tion" (2 Thess. 1:9). "And these shall go away into 
everlasting punishment" (Matt. 25:46). 

While God is a God of love, it must be remembered 
that love is only one of his attributes. Justice is one 
of his attributes as truly as is love. Now, since God is 
a perfect being we must expect to find in him the per- 
fect and harmonious expression of all of his attributes, 
and no manifestation of his attributes in any way re- 
flects upon his character, but simply exhibits his charac- 
ter as it really is. 

The idea that the punishment of the wicked reflects 
upon the character of God is itself unintelligible and 
absurd. The same men who argue thus possess within 
themselves the same attributes of love and justice, and 
these principles receive their full sanction when expres- 
sed in the laws that govern human society. Human laws 
are primarily for the protection and benefit of the good 
and innocent; and when true justice is executed against 
wrong-doers, every one, with the full sanction of his 
conscience, is ready to assert that such justice is in itself 
right. If God were to take all of earth's vile and im- 
penitent sinners to heaven, there to remain the same 
evil characters and there to continue the same evil work 
against the righteous — this of itself would be, in our 
estimation, the grossest injustice. No, "God is love," 
therefore he can not permit his people to be thus op- 
pressed throughout eternity. A final separation must and 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 541 

will be made. This does not reflect upon the character of 
Christ, for he has made a plan of salvation for all; and 
it is only through their own wilfulness that sinners go 
on and are punished. 

DEGREES OF PUNISHMENT. 

The Bible also teaches that there will be degrees of 
punishment. Paul says that in the day of judgment 
Christ will "render to every man according to his deeds" 
(Rom. 2:5, 6). Men become doubly responsible by the 
light which they receive. Thus, Jesus says : "If I had not 
come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but 
now they have no cloak for their sin" (John 15:22). 
"That sin by the commandment might become exceeding 
sinful" (Rom. 7: 13). Pilate did a great wrong in de- 
livering Christ up to be crucified, but Judas was more 
responsible than Pilate, for he had had more light; 
therefore Christ said to Pilate, "He that delivered me 
unto thee hath the greater sin" (John 19: 10, 11). 

Now, since our sins are estimated in accordance with 
the light received, our punishment also will be regulated 
accordingly. For this reason Peter says concerning back- 
sliders, "It had been better for them not to have known 
the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, 
to turn from the holy commandment" (2 Pet. 2:21). 
"For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the 
knowledge of the truth .... Of how much sorer punish- 
ment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath 
trodden under foot the Son of God?" (Heb. 10:26-29). 
The greater the light and knowledge possessed, the 
greater the responsibility when that light is rejected. 



542 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

"Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for 
ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long 
prayers: therefore ye shall receive the greater damna- 
tion'* (Matt. 23:14). 

"Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most 
of his mighty works were done, because they repented 
not: woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! 
.... I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre 
and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you. And 
thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shall 
be brought down to hell .... It shall be more tolerable 
for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for 
thee" (Matt. 11:20-24). 

From the foregoing scriptures we see that men will 
be rewarded "according to their works"; that some will 
receive a "sorer punishment" and "greater damnation" 
than others; and that it will be "more tolerable" for 
some people than it will be for others. But all these 
degrees will be in accordance with the light received and 
rejected. 

NOT ANNIHILATION. 

It is a favorite theory with some that the wicked will 
simply be blotted out of existence at the day of judgment 
and that that time will be their final end. But the Scrip- 
tural facts just shown — that at the day of judgment the 
wicked will be rewarded "according to their works," that 
some will receive "greater damnation" and "sorer punish- 
ment" than others — utterly disproves that false theory; 
for in the case of annihilation all would receive the same 
punishment. 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 543 

There are a few texts of Scripture that speak of 
men in this world as passing away and being no more, 
which is all very true of earthly things; but there is no 
text of Scripture referring to the state of men after the 
judgment in which it is even hinted that men will come 
to an end and be no more. Obadiah 16 is often quoted 
in order to sustain the false doctrine of annihilation: 
"They shall be as though they had not been/' Even a 
most careless examination of this text ought to show any 
one that it has no reference to the state of the wicked 
beyond the judgment. The entire chapter is concern- 
ing certain men in this world, and then it refers to only 
one class or nation of men. Verse 1 : "Thus saith the 
Lord concerning Edom" Verse 3: "The pride of thine 
heart hath deceived thee." Verse 6: "How are the things 
of Edom searched out?" Verse 8: "Shall I not in that 
day, saith the Lord, even destroy the wise men out of 
Edom?" Verse 9: "That every one of the mount of 
Esau may be cut off by slaughter." Verse 16: "THEY 
shall be as though they had not been." Verse 18: "And 
the house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph 
a flame, and the house of Esau for stubble, and they shall 
kindle in them and devour them; and there shall not be 
any remaining [on the earth] OF THE HOUSE OF 
ESAU." What has this to do with the state of the wicked 
beyond the judgment? Nothing. 

So also Mai. 4: 1 is brought forward as proving anni- 
hilation: "For behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as 
an oven ; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, 
shall be stubble : and the day that cometh shall burn them 
up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them 



544 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

neither root nor branch." This day of burning, however, 
does not refer to the future state beyond the judgment 
at all, but was to meet its fulfilment in the day when "the 
Sun of righteousness shall arise with healing in his 
wings," which day was to be ushered in by the coming 
of Elijah (verses 2-5). This Elijah referred to John 
the Baptist, as the following scriptures show : Luke 1 : 
13-17; Matt. 11:13, 14; 17:10-13. 

The entire fourth chapter of Malachi depicts the gospel 
dispensation introduced by John, the day when the "Sun 
of righteousness" was revealed. It was a glorious day 
for the people of God, and yet "a great and dreadful 
day" for the ungodly. The overthrow of the Jewish 
nation is one general example of the consequences of 
rejecting the Messiah. And as light received and re- 
jected will rate punishment in the future, the gospel 
dispensation will indeed constitute a dreadful turning- 
point in the destiny of the wicked. 

The work of Christ in the gospel dispensation is 
represented as a work of fire. In the same book of Mala- 
chi it is set forth thus: "Behold, I will send my messen- 
ger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the 
Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, 
even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; 
behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. But who 
may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand 
when he appeareth ? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like 
fullers' soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of 
silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge 
them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord 
an offering in righteousness And I will come near 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 545 

to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against 
the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against 
false swearers, and against those that oppress the hire- 
ling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and 
that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not 
me, saith the Lord of hosts. For I am the Lord, I change 
not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Mai. 
3: 1-6). 

"And now also the axe is laid unto the root of the 
trees: wherefore every tree that bringeth not forth good 
fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. I indeed 
baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that 
cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am 
not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy 
Ghost and with fire" (Matt. 3: 10, 11). Notice also the 
following scriptures which describe the fire of God's 
holiness in the gospel dispensation: Isa. 9:5-7; 33: 14; 
Jer. 5:13, 14; Isa. 4:3-5. This is the fire of God's 
holiness and truth that in this dispensation is kindled in 
Zion, his church, and keeps it pure from sin and sinners. 

The language of Mai. 4 : 1 is metaphorical. The fire 
is no more literal fire than are the wicked people literal 
stubble. The language is simply figurative, as are the 
fire, wood, stubble, silver, etc., in the other texts just 
quoted — and none of them apply to the future state, as 
can easily be seen. 

FUTURE PUNISHMENT WILL BE IN HELL. 

"Fear him which after he hath killed, hath power to 
cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him" (Luke 
12:5). "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all 



546 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

the nations that forget God" (Psa. 9: 17). From these 
texts we see that hell is a place. But it is also a place of 
fire. "The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked 
from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace 
of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth" 
(Matt. 13:49, 50). 

Hell, then, is not simply a condition, but is also a 
place; for into it the wicked will be "turned," yea, "cast 
into hell," and in that "furnace of fire" there "shall be 
wailing and gnashing of teeth." It is not the grave, for 
the righteous as well as the wicked will go into the 
grave; but "the wicked shall be turned into hell" and 
there exist in conscious suffering, for "there shall be 
wailing and gnashing of teeth, in that condition and place 
into which the lost will be "cast." 

Yes, hell is a place, a most terrible place — a prepared 
place. Prepared for whom? "Prepared for the devil 
and his angels" (Matt. 25:41). It was not made for 
man, but was made "for the devil and his angels." Fallen 
angels and demons are held in reserve until the day of 
judgment, when they will be cast into it. "And the angels 
which kept not their first estate, .... he hath reserved 
in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment 
of the great day" (Jude 6). The demons know of their 
coming doom; therefore those in the devil-possessed men 
cried out, "What have we to do with thee, Jesus thou 
Son of God? art thou come hither to torment us before 
the time?" (Matt. 8:29). But while hell was not pre- 
pared for men, yet if men choose to serve the devil, they 
will share his fate, for "the wicked shall be turned into 
hell" (Psa. 9:17). "Depart from me, ye cursed, into 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 547 

everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels" 
(Matt. 25:41). "How can ye escape the damnation of 
hell?" (Matt: 23: 33). Hell is an actual place; its 
punishment will be real. 

IT WILL BE EVERLASTING. 

I shall now proceed to bring forward the different 
expressions used in the Bible to describe the punishment 
of the wicked in hell, also the duration of that punish- 
ment. Some people think that most of these various ex- 
pressions are only symbolic, and not real, since some of 
them are opposite in character, such as "everlasting fire" 
and "outer darkness." Their symbolic character, how- 
ever, in no wise lessens the force of their application. 
According to Paul, the things of paradise are of such an 
exalted character that it is "not possible for a man to 
utter" them in ordinary human language (2 Cor. 12: 4) ; 
therefore wherever the things of that future world are 
described they are of necessity set forth symbolically, 
objects of this world being chosen to represent them 
analogously. But in this case, as in all cases, the symbol 
is inferior to the thing symbolized. 

So also, in the nature of the case, the future punish- 
ment of the wicked in hell can be truly represented in 
the present state only symbolically, earthly objects of 
a certain character being chosen to set it forth analo- 
gously. But remember that objects used as symbols are 
always inferior to the things symbolized. Therefore 
the symbol argument, instead of making the fires of 
hell cooler, only succeeds in making them hotter. Let 
us now consider these various expressions describ- 



548 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

ing the fate of the wicked. Some of these are only 
words, while others are things, therefore symbolic. 

1. "Punishment." The Lord hath "reserved the un- 
just unto the day of judgment to be punished" (2 Pet. 
2:9). They are worthy of a "sorer punishment" than 
death without mercy (Heb. 10:28, 29). 

It will be everlasting. "And these shall go away into 
everlasting punishment" (Matt. 25:46). 

2. "Death." "For the wages of sin is death" (Rom. 
6:23). The death here mentioned is not that natural 
death whick comes to good and bad alike, but it is that 
death which is the direct result of sin, for it is contrasted 
with eternal life. Natural death, as we have shown, is 
not the end of the soul's conscious existence, but is simply 
that state in which the human spirit is separated from 
the body. So also spiritual death is not the cessation of 
conscious existence, but is simply that state in this world 
in which the soul is separated from its normal position 
of communion and fellowship with God (Ezek. 18:20; 
Isa. 59:1, 2; 1 Tim. 5:6; Eph. 2:1; Col. 2:13 and 
John 17:3). In like manner the eternal death of the 
soul is not the end of its conscious existence (which would 
be contrary to all the other statements and symbols), 
but is simply its eternal separation from God. But nat- 
ural death is something repulsive; men shrink from it 
and seek to evade it. It is chosen — with all its repulsive- 
ness, with all its horrors — to represent that future state 
of separation from God — death. 

It will be eternal. "He that believeth on the Son 
hatk everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 549 

shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him" 
(John 3:36). 

3. "Darkness." "He delivered them into chains of 
darkness, to be reserved unto judgment" (2 Pet. 2:4). 
According to the parable of Christ, the wicked "shall be 
cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and 
gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 8:12). What a fearful 
thought! To be placed in utter darkness is one of the 
worst punishments inflicted upon men in this world. A 
dungeon experience is generally sufficient to break the 
will of the most stubborn, rebellious criminal. Such is 
the figure of future punishment. How terrible, then, the 
reality must be ! But this is not all. Instead of being an 
experience of short duration, as imprisonment in a dun- 
geon,— 

It will be forever. "To whom the mist of darkness 
is reserved forever" (2 Pet. 2: 17). "The blackness of 
darkness forever" (Jude 13). Is there not one ray of 
future hope for the wicked man? Answer: "When he 
dieth .... he shall go to the generation of his fathers; 
they shall NEVER see light" (Psa. 49: 17-19). 

4. "Damnation." "They that have done good, unto 
the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, 
unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:29). This 
expresses the highest form of condemnation. "Ye shall 
receive the greater damnation" (Matt. 28:14). "How 
can ye escape the damnation of hell?" (verse 33). 

It will be eternal. "Is in danger of eternal damnation" 
(Mark 3:29). 

5. "Destruction." This word "destruction," as applied 
to the wicked, signifies, not the end of their conscious 



550 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

existence, but their utter misery and ruin. The word is 
thus used in the Bible over and over again. For ex- 
amples, see Exod. 10: 7; Prov. 11:9; 18: 7; Eccl. 7: 16; 
Hosea 4:6; 13: 9; Gal. 1 : 13. "For when they shall say, 
Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon 
them .... and they shall not escape." 1 Thess. 5 : 3. 
"Whose end is destruction." Phil. 3: 19. All of the sin- 
ner's plans and hopes, yea, even his own noble self which 
God created for his own glory, is forever blighted, and 
gone down into everlasting misery and ruin — destruc- 
tion. 

It will be everlasting. "Who shall be punished with 
everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, 
and from the glory of his power" (2 Thess. 1:9). This 
everlasting destruction is not the end of their conscious 
existence, as the context shows, but is simply their final 
and eternal separation and banishment from the "pres- 
ence of the Lord." 

6. "Fire." "Shall be in danger of hell- fire" (Matt. 
5:22). It is "in flaming fire" that the Lord Jesus will 
be revealed from heaven against wrong-doers (2 Thess. 
1:7-9). It is called: 1. "A furnace of fire." "And 
shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be 
wailing and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 13:42). 2. A 
"lake of fire." "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the 
abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sor- 
cerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their 
part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone" 
(Rev. 21:8). "And whosoever was not found written 
in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 
20: 15). 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 551 

It will be never-ending. "Depart from me, ye cursed, 
into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his 
angels" (Matt. 25:41). "Are set forth for an example, 
suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7). 

Reader, be not deceived by the false doctrines of men. 
Obey the Word of God and "FLEE FROM THE 
WRATH TO COME" (Matt 3: 7). 

"In the awful day that's coming, 

"When heaven's trump shall sound 
And call the world to judgment, 

Oh! where shall we be found? 
Shall we cry for rocks and mountains 

To hide us in that day 
From him who comes in glory, 

With all his bright array? 

"Shall we begin to tremble 

"While looking on that sight, 
And take our march in anguish 

Down to eternal night? 
OH, WHAT AN AWFUL PICTURE! 

To some it will come true; 
And oh! my brother, sister, 

Shall it be I or you?" 

THIS TRUTH FOREVER SETTLED. 

There is no way under heaven to evade the force of 
this multitude of scriptures describing the fearful fate 
of the ungodly. 1. They apply to the wicked. 2. They 
apply to time beyond the judgment. 3. If literal, the 
punishment they depict is terrible. 4. If they are sym- 
bolic it is worse. The language describes a future state 
of everlasting punishment — of conscious pain, suffering, 
torment, and wretchedness, in hell. It either means 
what it says, or it does not. If it does not mean all this, 
then why do the Bible writers state it thus ? and if they 



552 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

really intended to teach such a doctrine as this, what 
words, comparisons, and descriptions could they employ 
to set it forth other than the very words that are here 
employed? Ponder well this last question. They have 
well-nigh exhausted the language in this respect. 

Notice, also, that the very same words that are em- 
ployed to measure the endless duration of all that is good 
and holy, are used to set forth the duration of the pun- 
ishment of the wicked in hell. I will call attention briefly 
to some of these words and their use in the Bible. 

1. "Forever." "The Lord shall endure forever" (Psa. 
9:7). "The Lord shall reign forever" (Psa. 146:10). 
"The word of our God shall stand forever" (Isa. 40: 8). 
"Forever, O Lord, thy word is settled in heaven" (Psa. 
119: 89). This shows its use on the one side. 

Now let us look at the other side: "God shall like- 
wise destroy thee forever" (Psa. 52:5). "If thou for- 
sake him, he will cast thee off forever" (1 Chron. 28: 9). 
"To whom the mist of darkness is reserved forever" 
(2 Pet. 2: 17). "The blackness of darkness forever" 
(Jude 13). The very same word that measures the dura- 
tion of God's word, of Christ's reign, yea, of his very ex- 
istence, is the word used to measure the time during which 
the wicked will be "cast off" and banished in "the black- 
ness of darkness." 

2. "Forever and ever." "The Lord shall reign forever 
and ever" (Exod. 15:18). The saints shall "possess 
the kingdom forever and ever" (Dan. 7: 18). "Thy 
throne, O God, is forever and ever" (Heb. 1:8). The 
righteous shall shine "as the stars forever and ever" 
(Dan. 12:3). 



1 



DESTINY OF THE WICKED. 553 

Now turn to the other side: "And the smoke of their 
torment ascendeth up forever and ever" (Rev. 14: 11). 
"Shall be tormented day and night forever and ever" 
(Rev. 20: 10). As long as the Lord himself shall reign 
and his throne in heaven stand, yea, as long as the right- 
eous themselves shall "shine as the stars" in their 
heavenly home, just so long the wicked shall suffer the 
torments of hell — "forever and ever" 

3. "Everlasting." "Everlasting God" (Isa. 40:28). 
"Everlasting Father" (Isa. 9:6). "The righteous shall 
be in everlasting remembrance" (Psa. 112:6). 

The other side: "Reserved in everlasting chains under 
darkness" (Jude 6). "Who shall be punished with ever- 
lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and 
from the glory of his power" (2 Thess. 1:9). "Ever- 
lasting fire" (Matt. 18:8). "These shall go away into 
everlasting punishment" (Matt. 25:46). 

4. "Eternal." "Eternal God" (Deut. 33: 27). "Unto 
the king eternal, immortal, invisible" (1 Tim. 1:17). 
"Eternal salvation" (Heb. 5:9). "Eternal Spirit" (Heb. 
9:14). "The righteous unto life eternal" (Matt. 25: 
46). 

The other side again: "Eternal judgment" (Heb. 
6:2). "In danger of eternal damnation" (Mark 3: 29). 
"Sodom and Gomorrah .... are set forth for an example, 
suffering the vengeance of eternal fire" (Jude 7). 

The very same words throughout that are used to 
measure the reign of the righteous in heaven, yea, the 
very continuation of God himself and heaven's throne, 
are used to describe the duration of the punishment of 
the wicked in hell. In Matt. 25, where the final reward 



554 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

of the righteous and the punishment of the wicked after 
the judgment are given, the same word is used for each 
in the same verse: "And these shall go away into ever- 
lasting punishment: but the righteous unto life eternal" 
(verse 46). In the Greek the word aonios occurs in 
both places, being translated everlasting in the one case 
and eternal in the other, but the meaning is exactly the 
same. 

"Oh! what will it be to be lost, 

With God's awful wrath on my soul, 
With demons to make my abode in that lake, 
While ages unending shall roll?" 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

OUR ETERNAL HOME. 

As children of the Most High, we are in the world, 
yet we are not of this world. As "strangers and pil- 
grims," we are simply "sojourning here" (1 Pet. 2:11; 
1:17). "Our citizenship is in heaven" (Phil. 3:20). 
For this reason we "set our affections on things above, 
not on things on the earth" (Col. 3:2). All our hopes, 
our desires, our aspirations, our longings, are there. 

This has ever been the conviction of all true saints 
here. The patriarchs of the old dispensation knew that 
their period of earthly existence was transitory ; therefore 
they "confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims 
on the earth." They were indeed seeking a country, but 
not an earthly one, for "they desire a better country, 
that is, an heavenly" (Heb. 11:13-16). We also of 
the new dispensation share with them in the same future 
hope; "for here have we no continuing city, but we seek 
one to come" (Heb. 13:14). Nor will this desire of 
God's people during the ages go unsatisfied, "for he hath 
prepared for them a city" (Heb. 11:16). It is not to be 
found in this world, for all the promises of future 
blessedness point us away from earth to another country, 
a "better country," "an heavenly." "Man goeth to his 
eternal home" (Eccl. 12:5, LXX). 

How inspiring this thought amid the trying scenes of 
life! When tossed by the billows of earthly woe, the 
soul cries out, "If in this life only we have hope in Christ, 
we are of all men most miserable" (1 Cor. 15: 19) ; but 



556 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

courage survives and faith brightens in view of 'the hope 
which is laid up for us in heaven* (Col. 1:5). What 
"strong consolation" is this "hope set before us" ! which 
"hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and 
steadfast, and which entereth into that within the vail" 
(Heb. 6:18, 19). When earthly reverses and loses 
come, we accept them "joyfully," "knowing in ourselves 
that we have in heaven a better and an enduring sub- 
stance" (Heb. 10: 34) ; for we have laid up for ourselves 
"treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth 
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor 
steal" (Matt. 6:20). 

We are adjusted to every circumstance. When things 
go smoothly in life, we rejoice and give God the glory; 
when fiery trials are our portion, we rejoice also, in- 
spired by the hope from above. "If ye be reproached 
for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the spirit of 
glory and of God resteth upon you" (1 Pet. 4: 14). 
What does a little opposition or persecution amount to? 
"Rejoice and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward 
in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which 
were before you" (Matt. 5:12). The eternal reward 
comes to those who endure to the end. Such shall have 
an abundant entrance "into the everlasting kingdom of 
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Pet. 1:11). 

A SURE REWARD. 

Are we certain of this happy termination of earthly 

things ? Yes, thank God ! "FOR WE KNOW that if our 

earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved we have 

a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal 



OUR ETERNAL HOME. 557 

in the heavens" (2 Cor. 5:1). Yes, "eternal in the 
heavens"; "for the things which are seen are temporal; 
but the things which are not seen are eternal" (2 Cor. 
4: 18). The things of earth that pass before our vision 
day after day are changeable and are constantly chang- 
ing. The blooming verdure of springtime matures in 
summer, perishes in autumn, and is covered from sight 
by the wintry snow. Man himself, fresh and playful in 
childhood, strong and vigorous in manhood, ripens for 
eternity, and with whitened locks and trembling limbs 
he hastens toward the grave. 

" Change and decay in all around I see, 
Oh, thou who changest not, abide with me.'' 

"The things which are seen are temporal ; but the things 
which are not seen are eternal." We look not at the life 
which now is, but with eager joy and anticipation we 
press forward to that life which is to be. "We look for 
the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who shall change our 
vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious 
body" (Phil. 3:20, 21). 

Worldly possessions, which are only "temporal," can 
not hold our affections: we are "heirs of the kingdom 
which he hath promised to them that love him" (Jas. 
2:5). We have "an inheritance incorruptible, and unde- 
fined, and that fadeth not away, reserved IN HEAVEN" 
for us (1 Pet. 1:4). Away with earthly attractions — 
Jesus and heaven are ours! The beauties of this world 
can not charm our souls: we are citizens of another 
country, "a better country" "an heavenly." Scenes of 
heavenly beauty and glory have passed before our spiri- 
tual vision; celestial music — music the sweetest — has 



558 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

fallen in siren strains upon our ears, and onward we 
press to that land of eternal rest. 

"O my soul, press on to glory! 
Worlds of bliss invite thee on, 
Evermore to be with Jesus, 

When this walk on earth is done." 

When, oh, when ! shall we enter this everlasting abode 
of the righteous? "Let not your heart be troubled: ye 
believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's 
house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have 
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go 
and prepare a place for you, I WILL COME AGAIN, 
AND RECEIVE YOU UNTO MYSELF; that where 
I am, there ye may be also" (John 14: 1-3). Where did 
Jesus go? "He was parted from them, and carried up 
into heaven" (Luke 24:51). When will he come again 
to receive us? "The Lord himself shall descend from 
heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and 
with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall 
rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be 
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the 
Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord** 
(1 Thess. 4: 16, 17). 

In the course of this world's history one age has suc- 
ceeded another, until we are now drawing toward the 
close of the last dispensation, and soon the second 
coming of our Lord will end our planet's career. But 
the plan and purpose of God has been complete in the 
mind of the omnipotent One from the beginning. Re- 
demption itself has ever been present before him; there- 
fore Christ was a "Lamb slain from the foundation of 



OUR ETERNAL HOME. 559 

the world" (Rev. 13:8); still, its actual fulfilment did 
not take place until after the lapse of many centuries. 
So also the future and eternal home of the redeemed is 
but another part of the same great redemptory plan, and 
it has been in the mind and purpose of God from the 
beginning; hence it is a "kingdom prepared for you 
from the foundation of the world" (Matt. 25: 34) ; still, 
its actual preparation was a later accomplishment, for 
Jesus says, "I go to prepare a place for you." No man 
has yet entered this world of final things. "I will come 
again, and receive you unto myself," says Jesus. Then, 
and not until then, shall the heavenly world be brought 
to view. 

A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH. 

This second coming is described by the apostle Peter 
thus: "But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in 
the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away 
with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with 
fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are 
therein shall be burned up. Seeing then that all these 
things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought 
ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking 
for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, 
wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and 
the elements shall melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless 
we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and 
a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness" (2 Pet. 3: 
10-13). 

When in that last great day our Lord descends from 
heaven, the earth itself, wrapped in sheets of flame, shall 



560 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

flee away from before his presence; and the righteous 
shall ascend with shouts of joy and praise to meet him in 
the air, ever to be with him in that future world of bliss. 
Yes, this "new heaven and a new earth" will be our 
future and eternal home. All the promises point forward 
to it. "Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the 
earth" (Matt. 5: 5). And we "according to his promise, 
look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth 
righteousness." The new earth is the earth that we shall 
inherit; for our "inheritance" is one that is incorruptible, 
and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, RESERVED 
IN HEAVEN" (1 Pet. 1:4). 

The description given by the Revelator is still plainer. 
"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, 
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; 
and there was found no place for them. And I saw the 
dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books 
were opened: and another book was opened, which is the 
book of life; and the dead were judged out of those 
things which were written in the books, according to 

their works And I saw a NEW HEAVEN AND 

A NEW EARTH; for the first heaven and the first earth 
were passed away" (Rev. 20:11, 12; 21:1). 

THE GOLDEN CITY. 

. Again we say, This new heaven and new earth brought 
to view after the passing of the present earth, will be 
the place of our future and eternal abode. "For here 
have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come*' 
(Heb. IS: 14). Yea, "God hath prepared for us a city" 
(Heb. 11:16). And when this heavenly world was 



OUR ETERNAL HOME. 561 

opened before the apostle in Apocalyptic vision, he saw 
therein the eternal dwelling-place of God's saints sym- 
bolized after the pattern of a "great city/' "the new 
Jerusalem" (Rev. 21). The actual things of the para- 
dise of God are of such an exalted and transcendent 
character that it is not possible for man to utter them in 
the ordinary language of earth (2 Cor. 12: 4) ; therefore 
they must of necessity be represented symbolically, the 
symbols chosen being, of course, in their nature vastly 
inferior to the things thus foreshadowed. 

What city is this laid out before us in splendor and 
magnificence? It is "the holy city, new Jerusalem." 
It is a city of "pure gold." Even its streets are of 
purest gold. It is surrounded by a "wall great and 
high," and twelve gates, each a solid pearl, give entrance. 
This wall is of jasper, built on foundations garnished 
with all manner of precious stones — jasper, sapphire, 
chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, sardius, chrysolyte, beryl, 
topaz, chrysoprasus, jacinth, and amethyst. The glory of 
God itself illuminates this city continually. Here is "a 
pure river of water of life clear as crystal, proceeding 
out of the throne of God and of the Lamb," and on each 
side of this beautiful stream stands the tree of life, rich 
in luscious fruits, and no cherubim with flaming swords 
are there to guard it. Oh! this is paradise restored. 
"There shall be no more curse." "Blessed are they that 
do his commandments, that they may have right to the 
tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the 
city." (Rev. 22:14). 



562 WHAT THE BIBLE TEACHES. 

OTJR HOME ETERNAL. 
This will be our eternal home. "There the wicked 
cease from troubling; and there the weary be at rest" 
(Job 3: 17). There in the city of light we shall "shine 
as the brightness of the firmament"; yea, "they that 
turn many to righteousness" shall shine "as the stars 
forever and ever" (Dan. 12:3). 

"Oh, what joy will it be when his face I behold, 
Living gems at his feet to lay down! 
It will sweeten my bliss in the city of gold, 
Should there be any stars in my crown." 

Oh bliss of heaven ! Joy unspeakable ! when we shall 
sit down with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the 
prophets, in the kingdom of God ; or when we shall 
gather with the ransomed around the great white throne, 
and there pour out our anthems of praise and thanks- 
giving unceasingly. O my soul, press onward ! There 
is nothing in this time-world to hold thy affections. 
"Pleasures forevermore" beckon thee onward to that 
land of excellent delights where comes no setting sun ! 
My brethren, take courage! Thrones and dominions, 
glittering scepters and crowns of dazzling splendor, are 
the symbols of our glory in the life that is to be. Heed 
not earth's sorrows. No sickness, no pain, no sorrow, 
and no death shall mar our happiness in the eternal 
paradise; for God himself shall wipe away all tears 
from our eyes. With time behind us, eternity before us, 
the angels and the redeemed of all ages around us — 
THIS WILL BE HEAVEN, OUR ETERNAL HOME. 



SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 



GENESIS CHAP. PAOB 

chap. paob 31:16 406 

1:1 52 16, 17 453, 462 

1, 2 51 18 414 

27 52, 56 32:33 238, 247 

27, 28 5S 34:28 411, 450 

29 58 28, 29 408 

2 452 28-33 425 

1-3 451 40:9 163, 164 

2, 3 „ 451 10 163 

3 452, 453 11 164 

7 58 85 232 

15 5 8 

20 - 260 LEVITICUS 

3:15 90 4 :7 175 

16 260, 453 11 470 

19 60 14 :2-7 279 

20 56 3, 4 279 

21 89 23 450 

22 58, 60 15, 16 477 

4:4 .......89, 90 21, 41 — 462 

26 90 85, 36 476 

5:24 90 37, 38 458 

12:1, 2 . 90 26:14-16 214 

13:14, 15 90 27:14-22 164 

15:5, 13-16 90 

17:1-8 90 NUMBERS 

9, 10 406 

13 462 

18:4 301, 303 

19:2 _ 301, 308 

22:17, 18 90 

24 :32 301, 803 

65 259 

29:26-30 839 

35:18 67 

43:24 j. 301, 303 

EXODUS 

9 :1 5 214 

10:7 550 

12 :14 462 

48, 49 417 

15:18 552 

26 _ 214 

19:10, 14 164 

23 164 

20 :1-18 418 

10.„ 461 

19 414 

21 414 

21 : 2 409 

24 :4-8 410 

25 :8 „ 232 

29:42 462 

30 : 8 — 462 

10 462 

11:18, 16, 17 _ 458 



12:9, 10 . 






214 


9-13 






216 


14:34 






340 


16:22 






61 


28 

3, 4 




450, 


458 

458 


9, 10 






458 


11 






458 


16 






458 


29 






458 


39 






459 


DEUTERONOMY 

4:18 408, 411, 

23 


450 

409 


5:15 




452, 
, 411 


454 


2-22 

4-22 


408 


450 
413 


18:15, 17 
28*20 21 


•19 




430 
?14 


59-61 . . 






214 


29:24-26... 






409 


31:16. .. 






409 


32-22 






521 


33:27 

34:5, 6 .... 






553 

65 


7:15 


JOSHUA 




409 


24:25-27.. 






416 



564 



SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 



CHAP. 

4 




JUDGES 


PAoa 
254 
254 

301 

415 

68 
302 

SOI 

214 

68 

422 
232 

422 
450 
148 

429 

459 
450 
552 

459 
46 
459 
214 
459 

394 
418 

390 
418 
412 
413 
453 
459 
461 

418 

til 


CHAP. 

3:17 

14:4 

22 

19:26 

20:11 

22:5 

23:12 

26:13 

32:8 „ 


PAQH 

. 562 
.... 87 


4.... 






.... 58 


19:21. 






.... 60 


4:7 




BUTH 


.. 212 
.... 81 

38 






I SAMUEL 


.... 61 
.... 60 


20:39. 


33:4 

38:4, 7 

PSALMS 

8:4 

4, 5 

4-8 

9:7 

17 

22:26 

23:4 

24:1 

36:9 


51 


25:40, 


41 




... 52 


11:8... 


H SAMUEL 




12:15. 






.... 55 


15:11. 






69 


8:9 




I KINGS 


.... 69 
.. 552 
.. 646 


10.. 






61 


11.. 
21.. 




232, 


.... 67 
.. 611 


21, 


P 


423 442 


. 42 


46... 




140 


49:17-19..— 


549 


18:4... 




II KINGS 


50:5, 2 

51:5 

9, 10, 13 

17 

52:5 

58:3 

66:18 

87:5, 6 

89:3, 4 

14 

26 

90:2 

10 

102:25. 26 


... 390 

.. 166 

129 


23:30, 


I 
11 

31 


CHRONICLES 


.. 115 

.. 552 

166 


II, 




115 


28:9... 




247 


29:10. 






405 


2:4 


n 


CHRONICLES 
450 


.... 43 
.... 46 
.... 42 


6:18... 






.... 67 


8:13... 






... 531 


21:18. 






103:1-3 

2-5 

10.._ 

20 

104:30 _ 

105:8-11 

107:17-21 

112:6 


.. 215 


31:3... 




412 450 


.. 216 


8:10-13.. 


EZRA 


.... 89 
.... 62 
.... 51 


7:6 






. 405 






NEHEMIAH 


... 216 
. 553 


4:6 


119:89 


.. 552 


8:1 






133:1 

136:26 

137:1-4 

145:16 

146:10 „ 

PROVERBS 

8:17 

11:9 

18:7 

28:23 


.. 223 


1-8. 






.... 44 


3... 






. 395 


9:18. 


14 




.... 89 


10:38 


450 


.. 552 


13:19. 








8:17... 




ESTHER 


318 


2:7 




JOB 


.... 650 
.... 550 
.. 899 



SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 



565 



CHAP. PAGH 

28 :13 116 

30 :6 287 

ECCLESIASTES 
7:16 550 

20 148, 150 

9 :5 68 

12 :5 67, 555 

7 67 

SONGS OF SOLOMON 



6:10 386 

8:5 386 

ISAIAH 
1:10, 2 86 

18 168 

4:3-5 545 

7:14 99, 100 

9 :5-7 545 

6 47, 48, 553 

6, 7 99, 491 

11 :10 467 

13:11 539 

33 :14 545 

35:4 92, 123, 140 

4-6 , 199 

10 390 

40:8 552 

28 553 

42:4 480 

7 198 

45:7 76 

21 42 

53 92 

55 :7 115, 168 

8 80 

56:2, 4 458 

57 :15 42 

16 60 

59:1, 2 181, 548 

2 112 

20, 21 405 

60:2, 3 318 

61:1, 2 198 

66 465 

7, 8 323 

22, 23 464 



1:7.. 



JEREMIAH 



36 
423 
545 



3:16, 17 

5:13, 14 

17:21, 22 461 

23:5, 6 232 

24 43 

31:22 99 

31-34 418, 442 



CHAP. PAOH 

33:20 406 

34:13, 14 406, 409 

LAMENTATIONS 



36 

340 

..70, 548 



1:3 

4:6 

18:20 

20 :10-12 ' 452 

12 458 

33:15 118 

34:6 388 

11, 12 388 

1 2 389 

31 387 

36 :27 50 

44:7 410 

45:17 459 

DANIEL 

2 :14 493 

20 43 

28 494 

31-35 488 

31-44 509 

34, 44 318 

36-38 488 

37, 38 490 

39 489, 490 

40 490 

40-43 489 

44, 45 490 

4 :25 339 

5:28, 30, 31 489 

7 386 

7, 8, 19-25 338 

18 552 

8:1-1 2 3 3 

27 213 



9:24. 






.. 92, 


141 


12 








386 


3... 






552, 


562 


6 


7 






378 


8, 


9 






387 


10 








387 


4-6 




HOSEA 




550 


7-5 








213 


13:9. 








550 


2:28, 
3:2... 


29... 


JOEL 
AMOS 


....92, 


256 
539 


6 








76 



566 SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 



OHAP. 

1:1-3, 6, 

3:10 

5:2 


OBADIAH 

8, 9, 16, 18 

JONAH 
76, 

MICAH 
_48, 99, 


PAG1 

64S 
218 

100 

.. 62 


OHAP. 

6:8 _.. 

12 

17, 18 

22 

23, 24 

32 

38, 39. 
44 


PAOl 

183, 184, 196 

556 

- 433 

650 

117 

260 

..- „ 481 

471 


6:7 




44, 45 

45 


».-. 136 

89 


8 




445 

5S9 

, 76 

588 

894 

860 
233 
60 
140 
386 

66 
115 
645 
. 43 
242 
544 
645 
818 
644 

123, 
281 
. 47 
495 
272 
276 
651 
273 
545 
183 
276 
277 
195 
195 
200 
432 
495 
560 




NAHUM 


6:15, 14 « 


ito 




20 


551 


1:7 


33 






HABAKZUK 
43 


7:7 


_ 120 


1:13 


28 


434 




ZEPHANIAH 
EAGQAI 


29 

8:1-4 


108, 431 

279 




2, 3 


Ill 


1:12 


5, 13 


212 




12 


549 




16, 17 


199 




ZECHAEIAH 


29 

9:2 


520, 646 

212 


4*6 


2-6 


_ 200 






29 


212 


12:1 

13:1 

14"6 7 


-f«, 


35, 36 

10:1 

7, 8 


201 

202, 206 

202 




MALACHI 


19, 20 


87 




20 


50 


210 


28 


60, 61, 67 


13 




11:4, 6 


199 


31-6 




11 


496 


6 




13, 14 


544 


18 


643", 


20-24 


642 


4 

1 


27 

28 


_ 46, 49 

Ill 


2 


199, 


28. 29 

29 


467 


2-5 


MATTHEW 

92, 111, 


470 




30 

12:5 


_ 471 

451 


1:21 


10 

30 


458 




125, 141, 


390 


21 


13:11 


496 


3:1, 2— . 


494, 


17, 16 


149 


1-6 




81 

33 


496 


6 




495 


7.... 




41-43 


512 


7, 8... . 




4 2 

49, 50 


650 


10, 1] 


1M, 


646 


11 


14:14 

15:4 


201, 211 


13-17. 




412 


16 




30. 31 

16:17 

18 


201 


4:1-4 

8 




„ _.. 231 

2U 


23, 24 




20 

27 


_ 394 


5 




„ 517, 629 


3 




17:1-3 

l-4„ 


65 


5 




481 



SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 



567 



CHAP. 

17:5, 8 






PAGB 

481 


10-13... . 






544 


18:3 




-129, 


168 


8 




553 


20 




...49, 


473 


19:26 






43 


20:19 






476 


20-24 .. 






171 


20-28 






252 


21:32— 




121 


22:29 






65 


82 






66 


85-40 

$7 . .. 




. 444, 


446 
. 87 


40 






446 


23:8 




..223, 

542, 
.547, 


252 


14 




549 


33 




549 


37, 38— 




m 


88 






?33 


24:3 






5*5 


4, 5, 11, 
14 


12 




327 
360 


35 

25 

31-33 





530" 


531 
530 


34 




.530, 
, 546, 
, 553, 


559 


41 

46 

26:26-28— 


....530, 551 
—530, 548 


547 
554 

285 


26-29... . 






298 


27:40 . 






476 


51 




.175, 
432, 
, 52, 
267, 
298 
291, 


234 


28:18 

19 

19, 20— 

20 

1:5 


48, 

51 

205, 

49, 

MARX 


511 
280 
290, 
434 
298 

276 


14, 15... 
40-44 




..492, 


494 
202 


2:27........ . 






451 


8:29 




549, 


553 


4:11 




495 


30, 31— 






495 


5:34, 86... 






212 


6:12, IS— 






202 


7:10 






412 


18, 19— 






470 


8:31 






476 


9:1 






498 


23 






212 


34 






171 


11:22 






209 


14:22-25— 






298 


16:9 






475 


15 


265, 


277, 


434 



CHAP. PAOH 

16:15, 16 269 

15-18 203, 205 

16 298 

20 204 

LUXE 

1 :1 3-1 7 544 

31-33 491 

68-75 405 

74, 75 194, 469 

75 128, 160 

77 184 

2:22, 23 412 

2:36, 38 254 

4 :18-21 199 

31 458 

6 :20 495 

46 1 59 

7 :28 495 

30 273 

9 :27 498 

60 496 

10:20 170, 247 

26 198 

11 13 ■ 164 

12:5 545 

32 510 

13:16 213 

20, 21 496 

15:7 145 

16:16 431, 438, 494 

495, 496, 497 

19, 20 64 

23 522 

28-31 64 

31 37 

17:20, 21 496 

18:1 293 

19 :10 123 

20:35, 86 58, 53 

22:19 287, 290, 298 

19 :20 298 

23:43, 46 66 

24 :33 191 

39 59 

44 426 

49 183, 184, 191, 497. 

51 558 

52 50 

JOHN 

1:1, 14 47 

3 4 9 

7 n 8 

11-13 130 

12, 18 131, 182, 236 

17 152, 419, 431, 439, 453 

2:24, 25 49, 103 

3 :l-7 130 



568 SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 



PACT CHAP. PAGE 

101 11:52 225 

12:48 189, 432, 435 

49, 50 432 

13 262, 300, 302 

2-7 298 

2-17 292, 294 

6-9 298 

7 295, 472 

8, 9, 16, 17 298 

10 305 

12-16 298 

14 293 

14, 15 303, 472 

14, 15, 17 293 

15 294 

34 473 

34, 15 478 

35 186, 473 

14 :l-8 568 

3 517 

15 435 

16, 17 172, 183 

16, 26 182 

17 182 

23 136, 159, 291, 

293, 435, 447 



3 87, 

4 


228, 


236, 272 
426 


5 




281 


16 

22, 26-30 


44, 


107, 309 
297 


23 




277 


23-25 




278 


29 




318 


36 




549 


4 




254 


1 




297 


20 




474 


21-23 




474 


21 23 24 ... 




46 


24 




42 


89 




255 


60 




212 


5-11 




264 


12 




461 


14 




141 


16-18 




461 


17 




46 


18 




101 


23 


50, 


101, 429 


24 




131 


26 24 






26 




42 


28, 29 

29 




. 526 
549 


39 






40 




Ill 


46 






6-39 




„ 628 


40 




528 


44 .. ' -- 




,. 528 


54 




628 


7-15 




108 


19 






22 23 




412 


37 




_. Ill 


39 




182 


46 




103 


8-3-11 




142 


34 




146 


84-36 




141 


46 




102 


47 




291 


56 




90 


58 




47 


9:41 




140 


10:9 


...236, 


238, 247 


10 






16 




225 


IT, 18 

26» 27 




...291, 889 


80 „_ 




429 


11-23, 24.... 




527 


25 




48 



26 51, 183 

15:1, 2 171 

2 188 

5 171 

14, 15 486 

19 164 

22 140, 541 

26 60, 51, 182 

16:12 263 

12, 13 437 

18 61, 182, 188 

17 226 

8 130, 443, 548 

5 48, 101 

9, 17 166 

11, 12 247 

14 248 

14-16 154 

17 171, 172, 162 

17, 15 194 

17-23 226 

20-23 „ 188 

18:25 305 

36 496 

36, 37 „ 492 

19:10, 11 641 

30 110 

20:19 481 

19, 20 476 

22 182, 190 

24 191 

26 476 

26-29 _ ~ 481 



SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 569 



PAGB OHAF. 



20:28 






47 


8:39.„ 




278 


21:17 


ACTS 




49 


40 

10 

2 


.'".17 8," 181," 


178 

189, 270 
178 


1:1, 2 






434 


4 




178 


8 


183, 


184, 


191 


34-37 




178 


9-11 






517 


35 




44 


13 






191 


36 




49 


14 






181 


38 




213 


14, 15 






256 


44, 45.... 




.179, 186 


15 






189 


44-47 




192 


24 






49 


45 




.182, 438 


2 


.177, 189, 


206, 


437 


46 




206 


1 






476 


47 




182 


1-4 






181 


48 




281 


4. 






182 


11:2, 3 




488 


4, 14-18... 






256 


15-17 




192 


16, 17 






494 


19 




488 


17 






182 


13:2 




61 


17, 18 




>= 


.. 50 


4 




51 


22 






201 


10, 11.... 




214 


23 






80 
. 47 


14:7-10 

22, 23.... 




204 


33 






250 


38 182, 


273, 277, 


278, 


281 


23 




247 


38, 41 






177 


15 




438, 463 


41, 47 






234 


8, 9 51. 164. 173. 


183, 198 


41-47 






241 


10 




470 


47 






247 


18 




43 


8:1-11 






206 


24 




250 


19. 114 


129, 142 


168, 


277 


16:30 




113 


22, 28 






480 


30, 31 




..121, 124 


4:4 






177 


31 




277 


12 






101 
181 


31-34 




270 


24-31 


17 




179 


29-31 






177 


2 




458 


31 






182 
183 


24-27...... 

26, 28.... 




442 


81, 32 






56 


31-33 






227 
259 
242 


27, 28 




48 


5:1-10 






31 

18:8 




528 


1-13 






268 


12-16 






203 


24-28 




179 


13, 14 






241 


26 




254 


14 






227 


28 




100 


29 






293 
123 


19:1, 2 

1-7 




..179, 181 


81 






189 


82 






164 


5 




281 


6:1-6 




251 


254 


6 


178 


, 191, 206 


7:59 






66 


10-13 




204 


8:5 






191 


20 




477 


5-8 




178 


205 


6 




477 


12 


..262, 269, 


272 


496 


7 


285, 


477, 810 


14-17 






178 


13, 14.... 




478 


15-20 






192 


16 





478 


16 






281 


21 




120 


17 






182 


28 47. 235, 245 


248, 251 


21 






273 


32 




165 


86, 87 






277 


21:8, 9 




..178, 255 


36-39 






277 


20-26 




488 


38 






277 


22:16 




279 



570 SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 



CHAP. PAOl 

23:1 162 

8 65 

24 :15 525 

16 117, 1 52 

26:15-18 269 

16 246 

18 165 

22. 23 65 

26 105 

28:25 50 

ROMANS 

1:16 124 

20 43 

27-31 436 

30 135 

2:4 44 

6, 6 538, 641 

14 417. 460 

14 15 82. 442 

16 432. 435 

3:8, 4 209 

4 67, 181, 423 

9 82 

10 153 

22. 23 82 

23 106, 140. 1fi« 

23-28 127 

26 107, 109 

4:13-16 91 

15 140 

25 106 

5:1 128 

1, 2 - - 194 

1, 2. 5 177 

2 184 

5 194," 4 45 

10 105 

11 105 

13 140 

17 499 

17-19 128 

20 417 

6:1. 2 128, 142, 151 

1-4 276 

2, 4 279 

3-5 475 

9 69 

11. 12 143 

12 58 

12. 13 62 

14 143, 151, 439, 461 

17, 18 143 

20 14 6 

22 143 

23 548 

7 150, 1 52 

2. 8 2S V 

4 439 



CHAP. 

7:7-13 






PAOH 

150, 166 


9 






..131, 169 


13 






541 


24. 25. 






151 


8:1 






228 


1-4 






. 151 


2 






228 


9 






50 


9, 14, 


16 




52 


11 






68 


14 






51 


14-17.. 






52 


16 

23 


132, 


137, 185, 


189, 360 
.. 94, 109 


26 






212 


28 






81 


9:5 






47 


10:9 






124 


9. 10... 






121 


12 






120 


11:22 






.213, 639 


33 






48 


12:1, 2... 






181 


2 






167 


4, 5 






..224, 235 


13:10 






446 


14:1, 2... 






464 


1-3. 14 


, 15. 




470 


1-6 




485 


5 

9 




464, 


469, 488 
49 


14 






4/0 


17 






497 


15:6 






...47, 224 


13 






51 


16 

25, 26. 




164, 


172, 183 
479 


16:1 






. 254 


17 






227 


Z 
1:1 


CORINTHIANS 

247 


2 






....50, 241 


10 






227 


13-17.. 






268 


18 

21 







125 

124 


2:7. 8 






89 


7-14 






255 


11 






51, 62 


16 






224 


3:1-3 






169 


1-5 






226 


16 






61 


4:20 






393 


5:7 






466 


6:19, 20. 






93 


20 




58 


, 156, 197 


7:10, 11, 


39... 




260 



SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 



571 



CHAP. 






PAGH 


CHAP. 








PAGH 


7:26 






258 


15:55 








522 


34 




..58, 


156 


16:1-4 








479 


9:11 






266 












14 






266 


II 


CORINTH! 




20 






463 


1:1 






241, 


247 


20-23 






258 


3:3-14 








423 


21 






434 


7, 11... 








426 


10:13 






195 


7 








425 


16 






285 


11 








425 


16, 17 






289 


14 








425 


32 

11 






248 
310 


14, 15. 
4:16 






58 


410 
, 60 


4, 5 






259 


16-18.. 








61 


8-10 




.260, 


261 


18 






...68, 


557 


11, 12 






261 


5:1 






..61, 


557 


13 






264 
264 


1-5 








98 


16 


1-9 








.. 62 


20 






283 
283 


4 








98 


20-22 


6, 8 








.. 62 


22 






241 


8 








. 67 


23 


268 


, 269 


435 


10 








520 


23, 24 






286 


17, IS 








134 


23-26 




284, 


298 


21 








127 


26 




-287, 


290 


6:1 








185 


26-29 






298 


2 






.124, 


533 


27-29 






288 


14-17- 








239 


34 






284 


14-18- 








388 


12 


186 


, 188 


205 


7:1 








169 


1 






186 


10 








114 


4-7 






186 


8:12 








119 


4-11 






188 


11:22 








247 


8-11 






187 


28 








250 


11 




51 


188 


12:2-4 






—63, 


524 


13 223, 


235, 244 


247 


252 


4 






.547, 


561 


13, 18 






236 


13:11 








224 


18 




235, 


244 


14 








52 


24-26 






244 












28 




..206, 


244 




8AI.ATIA2 




29-31 


187, 


188, 


445 


1:1 






246, 


435 


13 






445 
255 


1-4 

4 






."125,"' 


47 


2 






158 


14:1 






190 


11, 12, 


15-17.... 






268 


3 




.190, 


256 


13 




..240, 2 


550 


5 




190, 


256 


2:2 








246 


23, 24 






256 


20 






.159, 


275 


84 




258, 


453 


3:14-18... 








4<)5 


37 




....87, 


435 


15 








263 


40 






313 


16 








417 


15:3 






106 


16, 14. 








. 91 


14 






475 


17 








416 


19 






555 


19 




416, 


427, 


433 


20 






65 
513 


22 






...83, 


140 


22-28 


24, 25. 








417 


24 




513 


525 


28 


224, 252 


254 


, 262 


328 


28 






514 


4:4 








461 


34 






113 


6 








132 


34, 35 






142 


10, 11 








464 


47 






. 47 


21-31.. 








403 


58 


59 


93, 


197 


26 








318 



572 



SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 



CHAP. 

4:30 








PAOH 

439 


5:1.... 








439 


13 








484 


18 








439 


19-21 






436 


22, 
6:2.... 


23.. 


159, 

189, 


188, 
429, 

i 
4P 


436 
434 


1:7.... 




EFHESIANS 


109 


13.. 






51 


179 


13, 
14.. 


14. 




....93, 


197 
109 


20-: 

22, 


12... 
II 




.237, 


511 
234 


2 

1— 
1, 


i 


. ■ . Ill, 167J 


"506, 
70 


236 

548 
131 


2.... 








153 


8— . 








166 


6,8 








125 


11-22 






225 


15„ 






323 


423 


16.. 






?,n 


23 R 


16- 


?? 






174 


19- 


?? 






419 


20 

20-22 






231 
231 


3:8 








253 


9.... 








149 


15.. 








238 


4:3.... 








223 


4... 






234, 


236 


11- 


ii 




245 


22- 


14 






58 


24. 






.444, 
..223, 


484 


25.. 
28.. 








436 
436 


30 








109 


31.. 








116 


82. 








107 


5:11. 








230 


17. 








211 


23.. 








258 


23, 


24 






259 


24. 






224 


25. 
25, 
27. 


~ul 


Z"Z^Zl62, 


, Iff, 


261 
170 
237 


28. 








293 


SO. 
1:21, 


23.. 
?4 


'HILXPFIANS 


224 
67 


21- 






64 


23, 


M 






503 


27. 






.224, 


230 


2:5-7 








.. 98 


6.... 








47 



10 

10, 11.. 
27-30.... 

3:11 

19.. 
20.. 



21.. 



0, 21.. 



PAQB 

.„ 48 
.. 50 
.. 50 
. 101 
.. 218 

526 
. 550 

555 
.. 657 

. 48 



4:3 247, 257 

COLOSSIANS 

1:5 _ 666 

12, 13 497 

16 49 

17 48 

18 60, 65, 224, 234 

18, 24 237 

24 „ 234 

26 „ 149 

2 465 

3 -... 49 

4 267 

9 47 

10 48 



11 



276 



12 275, 277 

13 112, 131, 506, 648 

14-16 460 

14-17 457 

16 458, 559, 460 

16, 17 267, 466 

3:1 169 

2 555 

9, 10 68 

10 444 

12 159 

15 223. 236 

I THES-SALONIANS 

1:1 165 

2:10 152 

13 - _ 37, 435 

3:1, 2 179 

6 179 

4:1-6 180 

2 435 

3 _.162, 165 

16, 17 558 

5:3 550 

23 164, 165 

23, 24 162, 180 

II THESSALONIANS 
1:7 52 

9 540, 550, 553 

7-9 650 



SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 573 



OHAP. FAGB 

1 :7-10 512, 530 

7-11 517 

2:3, 4 328, 330, 356 

7 331 

13. 51, 161 

3 : 3„ 44 

I TIMOTHY 

1 :7 422 

7-9 417 

15 123 

17 61, 70, 553 

2:9, 10 157, 436 

11-15 258 

3 : 5 248 

8-13 251, 254 

15 174, 233, 236, 238, 419 

4 :3-5 470 

13, 16 5 

5:6 70, 112, 131, 548 

10 262, 303, 304, 311, 475 

6 :4 68 

5 422 

16 ,69 

20 508 

XX TIMOTHY 

1:8, 9 281 

9 124 

10 4 8 

2 :15 6 

21 162, 183, 184, 185, 487 

22 155 

3:1-5 436 

5 207, 398 

12 154 

16 — 6, 32, 37 

16, 17 248 

4 :1 529 

7 152 

18 50 

TITUS 

1:2 43, 76, 455 

3 47 

5 250 

9 5 

15 112 

2 :1 5 

11-14 126, 152 

12-14 194 

14 92, 261 

3 : 5 5 2, 125 

5, 6 173, 193 

PHILEMON 
6 126 



OHAP. 

1:1 


FAGH 

94 


1, 2 

8 


49, 428, 494 

48 


6 


50 


7 


59 


8 


47, 552 


10 


49 


14 


59 


2:3 


112, 123 


6, 7 


59 


11 


226 


14-16 


98 


3:6 


419 


13 


112 


4:3 


468 


4-10 


„ 468 


12 


256 


12, 13 


113 


13.... 


48 


15, 16, 


211 


5:9 


553 


13 


169 


6:1 


169 


2 


553 


13-15 


405 


18, 19..... 


556 


7:12 


446 


13 


421 


19 „ 


421 


18-22 


420 


22 


418 


23 

25 


419 

123 


26, 24 


419 


8:6 

6-13 . 


...263, 418, 419, 442 
420 


9,""l0'Z.'. 


..422, 423, 442, 450 
467 


10 


456 


13 


489 


9 


419 


1 


410, 419 


1-8 


174 


1-14 


238 


9..".......... 


175 

174 


10 


267 


11 


174, 267 


12 


49, 109 


13 


419 


14 

15-18 


279, 280, 419, 553 

263 


16, 17 


263 


27 


93, 211 


10:1 


421, 46,6 


1-4 


417, 420 


1-4, 11... 
4 


174 

148 



574 SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 



CHAP. PAGE CHAP. PA0H 

10:7 37 1:23 132 

9, 10 420 2:2 m." 169 

10 HO 5 174. 175, 233, 419 

10, 14, 15 164 9 499 

11 419 11 ; 555 

12 110, 175 21, 22 142 

14 169 22 143 

14, 15 183, 185 24 107 

14-16 176 3:3, 4 " 156 

14-17 443, 444 4 " 70 

15 189, 360 6 174 

19-22 176 7 ' 260 

25 474 IS .*"* 106 

26-29 541 20, 21 280 

28, 29 548 21 270. 298 

29 540 22 50, 511 

34 556 4:7 525 

11:11 44 14 556 

13-16 555 5:2, 3 251 

16 555,560 10 44 

12:9 61 

14 87, 184, 196 II PETER 

19 413 1:11 556, 512 

22, 23 318, 323 13, 14 68 

24 419 19 32, 87 

13:8 210 21 29, 32. 87 

12 162, 164 2:1. 2 327 

14 555, 560 4 520, 524, 549 

15 175 4, 9 524 

9 520, 529, 539, 548 

JAMES 14, 17 146 

1:2-4 195 17 549, 552 

9. 10 252 21 541 

12 196 3:7 531 

17 43, 539 10-12 582 

25 457 10-13 559 

2:1-4 252 15, 16 37 

5 557 

26 SJ I JOHN 

3:16 436 1 :1 47 

17 436 7 279, 150 

4:4 146 7-9 143 

6. 7 196 9 116, 168 

17 81, 140 9, 7 125 

5 :14-16 207 2:1 144 

15 211. 215 4 294 

16 215 6 143, 144 

15-17 154 

I PETER 16 77 

1:2 52, 162 29 '.Z...... . '.". 182 

4 557, 560 3:1, 2 132 

6 196 2 236 

9 124, 126 2, 3 170 

9-12 149 4 81, 189 

12 149 5 125 

H MX 5, 6 92, 141 

16 43 6 144, 147, 229 

17 555 7 147 

18 - 101 7, 8 .. 144 



SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 575 



CHAP. PAGE 

8:8 125 

8-10 147 

9 132, 150 

14 132, 134, 136, 506 

18, 19 136 

23 294 

24 5 2 

4:6, 7 134 

7 132 

11 293, 309 

12 445 

18 445 

19 108, 135 

5:1 132 

2 136 

6 360 

10 136 

11, 12 131, 132 

12, 11 13S 

18 139, 144 

19 134, 147 

20 47 

XI JOHN 
9 391 

III JOHN 

2 197, 211 

9, 10 253 

JUDE 

6 520, 546, 553 

7 551, 553 

13 549, 552 

15-19 147 

20, 21 52 

XtEVEXtATION 

1:5 65, 106, 125, 279 

7 526, 528 

9 ~ 253, 497 

10 480 

20 322 

2 :4 328 

14, 15 328 

20-23 328 

23 49 

8 :1 328 

10 866 

15, 16 328 

16 242 

20 Ill 

4:1 319 

5:9, 10 499 

13 50 

6:9, 10 66 

9-11 503 

10 :l-7 897 

6, 7. 688 



CHAP. 

10:9 






PAGE 

897 


11 


359 


, 373, 
.339, 


384 


2, 3 




360 


4 




360 


7-9 






362 


11 






365 


12 

1, 2 


.819, 321, 
500, 


331, 
501, 


832, 

503 
818 


3 




332, 


429 


3-6 .. .. 




819 


5 






825 


7 






493 


7-11 






324 


9 






502 


9, 10, 11 
10 






493 
499 


11 






325 


14 




339, 


375 


14-17 ... 




331 


17 






322 


13 

1-8 


...320, 321 
369, 374, 


359, 
383, 
332, 


362 
385 
502 


2 




820 


3 






371 


3, 4 






336 


5 






337 


7 






835 


8 




...89, 


559 


11-14 




502 


11-18 






847 


12 






372 


14 




...378, 


383 


6, 7 




384 


8-10 




..377, 


884 


11 




. 553 


15:2, 8 

16:10, 11.... 




..385, 


396 
. 372 


12 






878 


13 






348 


18, 14 ... 






508 


14 




.210, 
321, 
371, 


847 


17 

3 


320, 

349, 


322, 
373 
333 


8-5 






869 


8-6 






334 


5 




.374, 


378 


8 




838 


10 




.820, 


833 


11 




334 


12 .... 




.320, 


366 


14 




. 47 


16 






347 


16, 17 






370 


18 






874 


18 

1-4..... 


878 

872, 


878, 
877, 


884 
885 



576 SCRIPTURAL INDEX. 



CHAP. 

18:4 


879, 385, 


PAGB 

509 

385 

. 500 


CHAP. 

20:11-15 

1A — ——-—■— ——— 

15 500, 

26 ZZZ3Z~ZZZ 

27 

21:1.._ 465, 682, 660, 

8 

9:10 _ 

14 

22 

23-25 „ 

22:12 


PAOB 

508 


8. 

19 




506 
522 


16 




501 
348 
506 
501 
502 
507 
606 
507 
509 
563 
509 
632 
. 560 
529 


650 


20..... - 




610 


20 


500, 502, 


610 


1-2 




. 610 


4._ 

6, 6 


66, 

._ 505, 


561 
550 


6 




818 


7-9 

8, 9... 




231 

465 


10 

10-15 


..34 8, 521, 


465 
529 


11 


500, 


14 


661 


11, 12 


16, 13 


... 48 


11-13 




111 



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